The Will To Power
by VideoGameNut
Summary: He didn't expect to come here when he died. He didn't even know why he would. All he knew, was that this was a world filled with monsters. Creatures that could shake the world and scatter the lives of people around them like so many leaves. He refused to be a leaf. A footnote. He would rise to power, no matter who got in his way.
1. I Woke Up Where?

Chapter 1

 **I Woke Up Where!?**

Hello – Text

"Hello" – Talking

' _Hello_ ' – Thinking

 _Hello_ – Emphasis

oOoOoOoOo – Scene Break

xXx – Chapter Start

 **xXx** – Chapter End

'Hello' – Important Title

xXx

It was dark here.

Actually, scratch that. This wasn't just dark, it was fucking black as pitch. He couldn't even see in front of his own face.

' _How the hell did I get here_?'

As if encouraged by the thought, a brief collection of memories appeared into his mind. There was a car, a little girl and….screaming? Wait, the car was speeding and he saw it going at….oh.

So that's what happened. He pushed the girl out of the way of the car, but couldn't move fast to get out of the way himself. He took the hit right in the chest.

Jeez, what a way to die. Still, at least the girl got out okay. If nothing else, he could say he didn't do it for nothing. Positives, right?

Still, was this what it was like to die? To just wake up in an endless black void and drift aimlessly? Well, at least it was better than endlessly falling. Or waking up in some fire and brimstone style Hell.

Was this Purgatory, then? The place after physical death where souls are purified for their sins before going to Heaven? All he could say for sure is that this didn't seem like Hell.

Then again, given a little time, even this place would probably be some kinda Hell in its own right. Endlessly drifting through nothingness and perpetual dark? The monotony of it might drive him insane.

Hopefully it wouldn't last.

oOoOoOoOo

' _98 bottles of beer on the wall, 98 bottles of beer. You take one down, pass it around, 97 bottles of beer on the wall_.'

oOoOoOoOo

' _993, 986, 979, 972, 965, 958, 951, 944, 937, 930, 923, 916, 909, 902, 895, 888…_ '

oOoOoOoOo

' _HOW FUCKING LONG AM I GONNA HAVE'TA WAIT?!_ '

Dammit, he had no idea for how long he'd been waiting. Maybe hours, maybe days, but _nothing_ happened at all in that time. The only thing he could do to pass the time was constantly recite something repetitive to himself.

Well, he had to _think_ it actually. The acoustics in this place sucked balls. He remembered trying to shout as loud as he possibly could and there wasn't any sound at all. He couldn't even feel any vibrations from his lungs, throat or face. It's like it wasn't even there anymore.

…Wait a minute. He couldn't feel anything!

Panicked, he immediately started moving, flapping his arms and legs, clenching his teeth, blinking his eyes, anything to show he could still _feel_ something.

Nothing. He didn't feel a damn thing, not even the slightest ghostly imitation of a physical sensation.

What the hell was happening to him?

oOoOoOoOo

He couldn't feel. He couldn't see. He couldn't taste. He couldn't hear. He couldn't smell.

He couldn't do _anything_.

Numbly, he realized he should probably be panicking about that, but he somehow couldn't even work up the fear.

Because whatever this place was doing to his body, it was affecting his _mind_ too.

He couldn't help but wonder why this was happening to him. He wasn't exactly a saint, he knew that, but he did what he could to be a good guy and help people. He always slipped a few dollars into a donation box whenever he came by a spot for Veteran relief or Christmas donations or the Salvation Army. He was always nice to his neighbors and helped his friends and family out when he could, sometimes just helping people just because.

One time in particular popped up from what remained of his fading memories. That time when he was working as a courtesy clerk at a store. He was out collecting carts one day and saw a pair of vagrants asking for some food. He remembered they had a dog with them. He always liked dogs.

He knew that they must've actually needed help from how they wrote the sign. They weren't asking for money, like most of the other signs he'd seen, which set them apart slightly. When people were asking for money, they could actually be using it to get their fix, like alcohol or some drugs. But those guys were asking for _food_ , something they actually needed instead of wanted.

So he walked up to them, saying, "I'm on my shift right now, so I can't get you any food." Then he handed them 20 $. "But I can give you some money to buy it yourselves."

He didn't even ask them for the change. They needed it more than he did.

Sure, he'd done a few things he wasn't proud of. He watched some porn online every once in a while. He'd lied a couple times, he got into some trouble on a few occasions and he picked a few fights when his temper got the better of him. But he never did _anything_ to warrant something like this.

So why the hell was it happening to him? Why as he sentenced to just fade away into oblivion, without any feeling at all, or even his memories or thoughts to make it easier? _WHY?!_

Silence was his only answer.

oOoOoOoOo

He was almost done now. His memories almost entirely gone, all sensations long since dead. There was nothing.

And soon, he'd be nothing too.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing…..

' _What's that_?'

He felt something. He couldn't quite place it but it felt….warm? What was warm supposed to mean? Was it something nice?

He felt so peaceful as the warmth enveloped him. So content.

" _Yeah, warm feels good_."

…..Wait. _Feel_?

Yes. He could feel it. He actually felt something!

As if whipped into a frenzy, he thrashed in search of it. Searching for whatever gave him the sensation in his body…. _IN HIS BODY!?_

He could feel his body moving again! Feel it thrashing and struggling in the void as he sought the warmth that gave life back to what was empty stillness mere moments before.

But he couldn't find it. He could feel the warmth but he couldn't follow it. What was he going to do? How could he find it? And what was with this strange feeling on his face? In his eyes….. _HIS EYES!?_

He opened them. Opened his eyes for what felt like the first time in his life all over again. He blinked as he felt the tears building up, keeping them from blurring his vision.

But he could _see_ now! He could see where the warmth was coming from, now!

It was light. He felt warm because of the light shining down on him. He could see the light!

The light shining through a doorway. A way out.

He struggled to move, fought to somehow make his way through the endless blackness of the void. He kicked his legs and flapped his arms. He twisted his body and tried to roll. He even tried taking great deep breaths of nothing to _blow_ himself to the way out. He didn't care how desperate or silly it looked, he had a way out!

And slowly, ever so slowly, he was making progress. Inch by inch, foot by foot, meter by meter he was getting closer. Getting warmer as more of that soothing light washed over him and pushed him to try harder.

He didn't know for how long he moved but he didn't care. What mattered was that he was close. _So_ close to the door of light.

It was right in front of him now. Just a few more meters, just a few more feet, _just a few more inches_!

So close that the light was almost blinding, he reached out to touch it.

Just a grazing touch, fleeting, a split-second, but he touched it.

And then the void around him was replaced by a world of blinding light.

oOoOoOoOo

He regained consciousness somewhere, his upper body shooting up to push aside some flimsy covering, and let out a startled gasp. He briefly moved his arms and legs to check if his body was in working order, clenched his hands and wiggled his toes to see if he could.

' _Oh, thank god my body is working again._ '

He was also feeling some light on his body. Sweet, warm light. Oh how he missed that feeling. It was _so_ good to be back. His eyes were still sensitive, though, so he decided to keep them closed for a while longer. No point looking around if he'd just blind himself.

He was still reeling from the experience of drifting in that _nothingness_ , that endless void. He could still remember the feeling of his mind slowly deadening and vanishing to the point where he couldn't even think. He was pretty sure he'd have nightmares about it for years.

He felt around, trying to test the new environment. He felt….sheets. Was he in a bed? Feeling around a little more, he decided that, yes, he was in a bed. A very _large_ bed. Much bigger than the one at home. Was he in a hospital?

He gave the air an experimental sniff, trying to catch any of the scents he'd come to associate with hospitals. It wasn't that they actually smelled _bad_ , just very flat and sterile. It must've been the chemicals.

But he didn't smell anything like that. Just the scents of normal air and….perfumes? What places did he know with a bed that had a bunch of perfumes?

' _Well, this is gonna be a fun story. Now my friends are gonna be making jokes about the day-_ '

"Gaaaaah!" He was suddenly overcome by a splitting headache, releasing a keen groan of pain. Dammit, was this what migraines felt like? Holy shit, this was painful!

Fortunately, the pain faded quickly. Letting it slip away, he briefly wondered what could've caused it. All he did was think his na-"Oooowwww!"

Dammit, there it was again! What the hell was going on? He just seemed to get a literally _splitting_ headache whenever he…..wait a minute. Were the headaches from….?

Taking a moment to collect himself, the young man slowly gathered his thoughts and started going through his memories. One event at a time, one moment after another, he slowly worked his way towards a friend called him-

OW! Okay, that answered the question. The headaches popped up whenever he started thinking his name. Maybe a different approach?

Opening his mouth, he prepared to say his name out loud. But the moment before he could say something, he felt an overwhelming feeling of nausea and fought to keep himself from vomiting in bed.

' _What the hell? I can't even think or speak-_ 'he felt it building in response to his thoughts, like _something_ just lining up in his thoughts ready to pierce his skull. ' _…Dammit._ '

Well that sucked. He wasn't exactly a psychology major, but he was pretty sure he'd never heard of a mental disorder like _this_ before. What the hell was he gonna do?

Well, at least his closed eyes were feeling a little better. They were finally adjusting to the light, meaning he could open them. That was good, maybe he could get some idea where he was by looking at his surroundings.

Rubbing his fingers over his closed eyelids, he worked a little more sensation into them. Once finished, he opened his eyes to see wherever he may be.

…..And started gawking at his surroundings like a fish out of water.

"What. The. Fuck?"

He couldn't help it, the words seemed to slip out on their own. Because he was looking at a place he knew for a _fact_ he'd never been to before. Hell, he was convinced that there wasn't a place like this within _miles_ of where he lived.

First off, the room itself was _massive_. Its interior probably had more room on its own than a small house. The actual furniture all looked like stuff from a fancy antique shop. Everything seemed to be made with a combination of Renaissance and Gothic themes in its construction. Patterns of red, gold, and orange coming together with woods constructs of mahogany, pine and maybe oak. The walls themselves were a pale painted plaster with exquisite molding on the top and bottom, with patterned vertical stripes of red and gold. The bed he was laying in was covered in huge sheets of various reds, apparently silk. The floor itself seemed to be covered with a _huge_ single rug, almost fitted to the corners, showing a floor of carefully placed tiles underneath. In a departure of the rest of the room, the rug in question seemed to be of Persian design.

Frankly, all the furniture and contents of the room could probably take care of the whole payment for a small house. Just where the hell _was_ he?

And _then_ he saw the glass doors to the side of the room. Large, almost large enough to fit the proportions of the room itself, the two doors each consisted of a single wooden frame with five square opening in which the glass was held. Briefly, he wondered if it was even possible to open.

Getting up from the bed (and happy to note that he was learning some kind of sweatpants), he walked around it to the doors to try and peek out. He didn't see any other windows to see anything outside, so the glass imbued doors were his best bet to get a look. He could only hope he recognized _something_ outside.

When he reached the doors and looked through one of the glass openings, his hopes were immediately dashed. He didn't recognize anything! There was just a flat expanse of land ending in high mountains that he could tell were _many_ miles away. Looking more carefully, he could also see a few small towns in the distance. They weren't large, each probably no more than a mile or two in circumference, but they were still there. Wherever he was, it apparently wasn't _completely_ remote. Maybe he could find a way home.

' _Well, there's the hope at least. But still, where am I?'_

Turning back, he started examining the room, seeing if he could find any clues about where he was and who lived here. He looked through the drawers, under the bed, beneath the couch cushions, in the dressing closet-' _Whoa! Somebody's got expensive taste._ '

All the clothes in the closet were masterfully tailored, apparently made of silk of varying colors. Looks like whoever lived here liked to have a varied wardrobe. Looking around inside, he noticed there was even a wooden frame hiding one of the corners from view. Did the owner of this place actually dress himself in his own closet? Weird.

Taking a closer look at the clothing, he tried to find anything with some kind of name tag on it. If nothing else, he should at least know who brought him here. Only polite to know whose bed he was sleeping in. It took him some time, but he eventually found something with a name on it. Or, at least it _looked_ like a name, if a strange one.

Vashyron Furtur.

Furtur? Where did he hear that name before? He could've sworn he remembered it from somewhere.

Dismissing the thought, he left the spacious closet and looked over the room again, hoping to find something more concrete. Glancing in the direction of the bed, his eyes were caught by something strange on the table beside it.

A Chess set. A very incomplete one, if his eyes were telling him the truth. There was only eleven pieces on the board, all of them white.

But, for some reason, he had a feeling that these weren't regular Chess pieces. Walking closer to the table they were set on, he another look at them

The pieces were al beautifully carved and polished, with a number of tiny details that seemed to make them almost _alive_. The manes on the Knights had tiny, barely noticeable grooves to show each individual hair, even on the back. The Rooks all seemed to be made up of smaller pieces of the white material, perfectly carved and positioned into the construction of both single towers. The Bishops were both designed in a typical manner, but the heads were very distinct, more similar to the hats of the genuine Medieval Bishop than some dot. The Pawns were the only piece that were relatively unadorned, but they were still crafted very well. Smooth on the surface with no marks at all.

Taking one of the Pawns in his hands, he was surprised to discover it was warm to the touch. Smooth in his palm and finely textured, it felt oddly…..right, as he held it in his hand. Like it belonged there. He could also swear he felt something under the surface. Some kind of flow and….a pulse. A pulse that was perfectly in tune with his own.

' _Creepy._ '

Putting the Pawn back in place, his eyes traveled to the book on the table, beside the Chess set. The Title was especially weird.

'The Construction of A Peerage', Ajuka Beelzebub.

Wait, he _definitely_ recognized that name. Ajuka Beelzebub was the name of a character in an anime called….no way. That was impossible!

Grabbing the book, the young man swiftly began reading. Trying to make sense of what he just couldn't believe was happening. This couldn't possibly be real, it had to be a prank.

Unfortunately, the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. The architecture of this room, new strange location, the Evil Pieces –because that's exactly what they were, they couldn't be anything else- and the manual. The very _thorough_ manual. This thing had all the information on Peerage creation that one could ever want to know.

Could he really be in an anime?

That train of thought was interrupted by the sound of an opening door. Turning to the disturbance, he saw a quartet or rather _beautiful_ women walking into the room. If they were at all disturbed by his lack of upper clothing, they didn't show it at all. They just formed up in front of him in a perfect line and gave him a deep bow in perfect synch. The image was compounded when they chorused him a greeting that was just as synched as their movements. Likely long practiced.

"Good morning Master Vashyron. How may we serve you?"

The words sounded…wooden. Rehearsed. As if they were speaking in as carefully a blank tone as they could without being offensive. It was a little disconcerting.

It also made it clear, beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was really in the world of Highschool DxD.

 **xXx**

Well everybody, this is the first chapter of my Highschool DxD fic, The Will To Power. Those of you who have heard of Friedrich Nietzsche may get the meaning of the Title and its implications.

Now, to make some things clear about this fic. Like Joshua from World of Remnant: Online, Vashyron is gonna be a powerful character, VERY powerful in time, but he's gonna have to work for it. I've honestly gotten real sick when the MC of any medium rapidly gets power-ups for no work just because he's the MC. Vashyron is gonna work himself to the bone to get powerful, he might find some tricks to make progress a little quicker, but he's not gonna get everything on a silver platter. That's one of the problems I've always had with Issei, all of his power seems to get handed to him by somebody else. The other problem is that he's such a massive perverted loser that I can honestly say I kinda like seeing him get his ass kicked.

Another thing I'd like to tell, is that there _will_ be lemons in this fic. I'm gonna write them onto a separate story so I don't risk this one getting taken down, but there's gonna be lemons.

Finally, something that I'm sure is a bit of a concerning topic. Pairings and Harems. Given the situation Vashyron is in, he's gonna get a harem. It's also gonna be a small harem, I'm not gonna try and drown him in beautiful girls, this isn't gonna be that kinda fic. I don't have anything against a good harem fic, but it has to be executed _right_ , with actual relationships and development between the people involved.

One thing I hate about shows like DxD is that, while there's plenty of so called romance, there aren't really any actual _relationships_. Romance comes _after_ the relationship, not before, and the dynamic of the relationship in question also helps dictate the details of the developing romance.

Seriously, _why_ do all the girls Issei meets immediately fall in love with him? Because he was nice to them? Because he rescued them? Helped them get over some issue? That's not a romance, it's a joke.

Vashyron's will have a unique dynamic and development with his relationships with all four members of his harem and the actual romance will happen after that. NOT before. Exploring that kind of thing is one of the reasons I'm interested in writing this fic.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. Hope you've liked the chapter, and please stay in tune for Chapter 2.


	2. Dear Lord, This Guy Was A Jackass!

Chapter 2

 **Dear Lord, This Guy Was A Jackass!**

Hello – Text

"Hello" – Talking

' _Hello_ ' – Thinking

 _Hello_ – Emphasis

oOoOoOoOo – Scene Break

xXx – Chapter Start

 **xXx** – Chapter End

'Hello' – Important Title

xXx

For a moment, he just stood there. He really couldn't help it, all things considered. He'd just found out that he'd somehow been transported into the world of an anime in the body of an, apparently existing character. Then, when struggling to find some evidence to prove this couldn't possibly be real, these four _beautiful_ women walked into his room, bowed down, and called him their master. They were also completely unaffected by the fact that he was still shirtless.

Glancing a look over at the set of Evil Pieces on the bedside table, he took a much more careful note of the individual pieces. Particularly the _missing_ ones. ' _Could they be…._ '

He looked over them and they suddenly started to look very concerned. Were they worried by his silence? He cleared his throat and spoke in the calmest and most level tone he could. "Thank you all for arriving on time."

The effect was as immediate as it was surprising. They suddenly went even more still than before, shooting quick glances at each other with looks of surprise and….concern? Why would they be worried about him being polite? Unless it was really that strange. Did he wake up in the body of some spoiled rich kid?

"Rise," he ordered, keeping his voice steady and formal. They responded immediately, ceasing their worried looks and rose at once, as if they were all connected by a series of metal bars. Standing up to their full height, he was able to get a better look at their appearances and features.

The four of them, from left to right, were all extremely attractive and beautiful in their own ways. They also happened to be wearing a variation of different uniforms.

The first coming from the left was roughly 5'7 in height and maybe 20 years old with light European features. Her most noticeable physical traits were her caramel skin-tone and long red hair. Like, _really_ long, probably reaching somewhere down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were a deep amber color that finished her look rather nicely. Her maid uniform resembled the usual French Maid stereotype with a long skirt and a slit by her left leg, giving an admittedly nice vie up her leg to mid-thigh.

After her was a young lady of 19 at height 5'6 with slight Japanese features in her facial structure, and skin that was _just_ tanned enough to not be pale. With golden blonde hair flowing freely down to the small of her back and honey colored eyes, she was certainly stood apart from the woman before her. Her choice of clothing was a traditional Japanese Shrine Maiden or Miko outfit, with a flowing white Haori and Red Hakama pants. He could see the Tabi socks she wore under her Japanese styled sandals. All in all, she looked like someone you'd find in a Traditional Japanese Shrine.

Third in line was perhaps the youngest looking of the group and the shortest at 5'5, probably no more than 17 and no younger than 16. Her hair was a chestnut brown in color, bound at the top slightly with a red ribbon and cut in a variation of the typical _princess_ style cut. Her skin was very pale, barely shy of being literally white-skinned, and free of any blemishes whatsoever. Her eyes were a deep reddish brown, seeming to constantly change ever so slightly in the finer textures of its own color. Her look was topped off with an outfit consisting of a deep red, strapless dress that began _just_ beneath her shoulders and falling down to around her ankles to barely show the strap-on dress shoes she wore. The dress didn't have any sleeves, either, leaving her arms bare.

Last in line, at the other end from the red haired young woman, was a woman noticeably older that the rest. Probably age 24 or so and standing at 5'8. Her features were distinctly European, with jet black hair was styled conservatively into a low cropped bun at the back of her head and the excess front strands flowing down as some free locks on the right side of her face. With a pair of spectacles over her cool blue eyes, the woman had a definite intellectual look. Her clothing consisted of a similar outfit to the redhead, albeit slightly more frilly and without the leg slit.

So, this was his peerage. And if only four Pawns were actually missing from the set…..

"Introductions." He ordered.

They seemed confused by the order, but it only lasted for a split-second before they responded.

The redhead to his left answered first. "Rita Lupo. Pawn."

Then the blonde. "Mitsume Kaneda. Pawn."

The pale one in red. "Adriana Curtis. Pawn."

Then the woman on the right. "Yuria Alphais. Pawn."

So he was right about them. They were all pawns, both the most unassuming and potentially dangerous piece in Chess. Was there a reason the guy who had this body didn't have anyone recruited with a higher piece? Then again, he could probably understand the reasoning. There were eight Pawns in total, you probably shouldn't _waste_ them, but their numbers and ability to Promote meant that you could probably use them a little more freely than the other Evil Pieces. Especially since, to his knowledge, everyone could only be granted _one_ set of Evil Pieces and no more.

Still, he wasn't sure if that was really all there was to it. The way they acted around him, that nervousness. It had some less than pleasant implications, from what his own imagination was telling him. It wasn't dwelled on very much in the original series, it was too light-hearted for that, but when somebody was recruited into a Devil's Peerage they were essentially made into their _slaves_. It wasn't prominent in the original series, but that had lots of nasty implications.

So, the question was what this Vashyron guy had done to make his own Peerage so scared of him.

Honestly, he wasn't too eager to find out the answer.

"Thank you all. You're dismissed."

Now _that_ got a reaction out of them. The eyes that they kept so carefully blank before were opening wide, now. They didn't even try to hide their surprised glances this time, trading them almost as if he wasn't even in the room with him. Once the surprise seemed to settle, they slowly exited the room ( _His_ room, apparently) and left. But the last of them to leave, the redheaded one who'd introduced herself as Rita Lupo, took a moment to turn and look at him. Her expression was carefully blank, not cold or warm, it was just empty of any expression. But somehow, he could swear he saw something _burning_ deep inside them. Something so hot that words like contempt or hatred just weren't strong enough.

' _Now THAT could be a problem._ '

Before he could speak to her, though, she turned and left. The moment she exited, the young woman seemed to very carefully _slam_ the door behind her. Maybe she was trying to make a point or something, he didn't know. What he did know was that Vashyron must've done something pretty nasty to her in the past. Therefore, _he_ had done something pretty nasty to her in the past.

….

' _Wow, this just keeps getting better and better._ ' Oh, well. At least with them gone, he didn't need to talk so formally anymore. Talking like some old-fashioned Noble was a little annoying.

After deciding standing around wasn't gonna help, he entered back into the close that doubled as a dressing room and got ready to put something on. Just because this was apparently his house, that didn't mean he wanted to walk around in it half naked, he had _some_ standards after all.

Entering the room in question, he started looking through the selection of clothes to find something suitable. Vashyron at least had enough money to get a very _sizeable_ wardrobe, so there had to be _something_ he could wear. Plus, he was using the guy's body, so it's not like this stuff wasn't in his size.

After searching for a moment, he topped as his eyes landed on a large mirror. More specifically, the reflection _in_ the mirror. _His_ reflection, or at least Vashyron's.

Moving to get a closer look, he noticed that his height was at least the same. 6'1, just like before. He also seemed to be around the same age at 20 years old, 21 at most. Everything _else_ though.

For starters, his hair wasn't the same color. It used to be a jet black, but this guy's hair was brown. A very dark brown, but still not what he had before. He also kept his own hair shorter, but Vashyron's was down to just slightly past his shoulders.

Another thing was his body. His rather _athletic_ body. Granted, his old one wasn't exactly fat or anything, but he wasn't exactly slim either. This guy's body though was rather trim and a little athletic, albeit not with much actual muscle tone. Beyond their shared height and skin color, their bodies were very different.

But what caught his attention the most was his _eyes_. They had black pupils and white sclera, but those were the only similarities to the eyes of his old body. The iris on, the other hand, was _completely_ different. It wasn't just one color, but looked like a combination of _three_. It was a constantly shifting and moving combination of light green, icy blue, and some white that he could swear actually _flickered_. And it was all contained within the thin line of the limbus as it seemed to slowly rotate.

Anyone else probably would've considered them beautiful, enchanting even, but his own thoughts went down a completely different tangent.

' _How the hell do eyes like this even work?_ '

Seriously, they made absolutely no physical sense. He was honestly a little surprise he even _could_ see with eyes like this. Then again, it's not like most anime didn't throw in this weird kinda shit just to make characters stand apart from each other. The Dōjutsu of Naruto came to mind. Seriously, the physical workings and construction of the Sharingan should've just made the Uchiha clan blind whenever they used it.

Tearing his focus away from the mirror he went back to looking for something to wear. The new body was a little disconcerting, but it was nothing he couldn't deal with. Walking around shirtless in his own home? Maybe, but not here and especially not so early. This was _Vashyron's_ home, not _his_. Now _that_ would take some getting used to.

Fortunately, it didn't take much longer before something caught his eye. It was on a mannequin near the back, positioned as if someone was wearing it in a pose. It also looked strangely familiar, somehow.

Moving in for a closer look, he recognized it almost immediately. For crying out loud, how could he not? He remembered playing the damn character in the game and changing it almost into a direct copy of this.

It was Ezio Auditore's Assassin outfit! Granted, there was a number of differences. The lack of an emblem, no hood, the cape was on the right arm instead of the left, there also weren't any armored parts on it and it was almost all black with only red being it's secondary color in a sash around the waist. But besides those differences, it looked almost exactly like a color swapped version of Ezio's outfit.

' _Oh man. How can I see this and choose something else? Seriously?_ '

Taking the pieces off the mannequin one by one, he dressed up in what he considered to be one of the coolest fictional outfits ever. It took him some time to adjust all the straps and individual pieces of clothing for the outfit, but he got it all on by around 30 minutes.

Walking back over to the mirror, he decided to take in his new look and found it _very_ satisfying. Hell, he even made a few poses from the game, particularly the one where Ezio stood with his arms slightly spread out as he looked forward.

In his defense, he immediately stopped after realizing how nerdy he must've looked. ' _My god, I'm becoming a damn cosplayer._ '

Dismissing that disturbing thought to the back of his mind, he immediately left the dressing room and shut the door behind him. He already had enough on his plate, he didn't want to add developing fanboyism to the list. Waking up in the body of an anime character was bad enough, thank you.

Fully dressed and with some curiosity finally kicking in, he headed to the door that his four Pawns had entered an exited through. This was at least technically _his_ house, so it would be a little weird if he didn't try and find out the layout. Besides, it's not like anybody was actually in any position to stop him from looking around. What could they really do? Kick him out?

Chuckling slightly at his own joke, he opened the door and left the bedroom he'd woken up in. Finding himself in a very _long_ and equally _large_ hallway, he did his best to avoid gaping at the sight as he walked through the halls. It would be very strange for him to stare wide-eyed at everything about his own home. He wasn't sure what would happen if anyone found out about his strange situation, but he really didn't want to risk it. For all he knew, he might be executed for impersonating or stealing the body of a Noble among Devil Society.

Because that's exactly what he was. Only High-Class Devils were given a set of Evil Pieces and the right to recruit a Peerage, and all High-Class Devils happened to have some kind of Noble ranking. He briefly wondered what his own might be. If his memories regarding the series were accurate the title for High-Class Devils were, in descending order; Marquis/Marquess, Margrave/Margravine, Count/Countess, Viscount/Viscountess and Baron/Baroness.

He'd have to find out later, but he had other things to worry about for the moment. Like finding out what kinds of powers he had in this new body. If he was in one of the 72 Pillars of the Underworld he likely held some kind of power. He didn't know what it was, but if it was anything even remotely like the ones he'd seen in the series, it would go a long way towards helping him to defend himself. And that was something he _very_ much needed.

oOoOoOoOo

' _Jeez, just how BIG is this place?_ '

Seriously, he'd been walking around the inside of this place and he was pretty sure he'd barely seen half of it. At this rate, memorizing the layout would be almost impossible on his own. He wondered if he could somehow get the staff of this place to help. The numerous maids and servants he'd encountered hadn't exactly been _friendly_ to him, if anything they seemed even more scared of him than his Peerage, but if he ordered them to draw up a map, they couldn't say no. Was that an option?

"Master Vashyron?"

He stopped walking as the sudden voice interrupted his train of thought. Turning to the voice, he saw it was Rita, the Pawn who'd been _almost_ hostile to him back in his room. Her eyes didn't quite have the same degree of hostility from before, not as openly, but it still smoldered in there. Most of the look in her eye was something akin to muted confusion, and maybe a bit of caution.

"Yes, Rita?"

She _almost_ held back the twitch in her right eye, but he still noticed it. Apparently, she didn't seem to like being called by her first name, not by him.

Fortunately, she still answered. "I'm simply surprised you haven't entered your laboratory, yet."

' _Laboratory?_ ' he thought, his mind quickly sifting through the implications. If Vashyron had a lab, that meant there was research notes, information, something he could use to find out more about his abilities and whatever Vashyron had been up to. And Rita had just walked up to him and told him about it? Talk about a lucky break.

Trying to keep the relief out of his body language, he responded. "Thank you for reminding me, Rita. Would you care to escort me?"

The woman's reaction was as immediate as it was noticeable, her posture suddenly becoming stiff as rock even as her caramel skin seemed to suddenly get a shade lighter. Perhaps most notably, though, was the minute widening of her eyes and the flicker of panic in them before they seemed to cloud over in resignation. "Of course." He tone was hollow, lifeless as she turned and walked off towards where he assumed the lab to be.

So he followed, letting Rita lead him along even as he pondered over her rather startling reaction. Just what could escorting him to the laboratory have done….to….ah jeez.

Experimentation. She thought he was going to experiment on her, and judging by her rather intense response, he was willing to bet that Vashyron had done it before.

For crying out loud, the more he learned about this guy the more he wished he woke up in a different body.

Then again, waking up in Vashyron's body would probably save them all _a lot_ of torment. And maybe, just _maybe_ , he could find some way to turn that around.

"We've arrived."

He was startled slightly when Rita suddenly spoke, standing beside a closed door with an almost _painfully_ forlorn look in her eyes. Oh yeah, she definitely had bad memories of this place.

Looking at the door itself, he couldn't help but notice how it stood out. The actual door was deep red and painted over with a number of odd sigils and symbols. A defense system, maybe? God, he hoped not. It'd be a big giveaway if he couldn't open the door to his own lab. Especially in front of a witness from his own Peerage.

Unfortunately, he couldn't really turn back now. He'd asked Rita to escort him here and if he just changed his mind than she'd probably get suspicious. However way he looked at it, he at least needed to _try_ and open the door. Besides, even if he failed, he could just order Rita not to tell anyone about it after he muttered something about how there was a problem with the seals on the door. That would hold up, right?

With that backup plan in mind, he walked up to the door as calmly as he could. Getting closer, he noticed how the sigils seemed to start glowing in proximity to him. Sparing a glance at Rita, he was relieved to note that she didn't seem at all surprised. That's good. If she was shocked than it would mean the glowing was a bad sign. So, judging by her _lack_ of a reaction, he didn't need to be worried.

His train of thought ended right when he reached the door and put a hand on the doorknob. Turning it, he noticed that the glowing briefly intensified before immediately dying down. Again, he spared a glance at Rita and was relieved that she showed no reaction. Nothing had gone wrong so far.

Opening the door, he entered the laboratory and did his best not to stare. Really, he did, but it was pretty damned hard. If he thought the bedroom as big, than this one lab was _HUGE_. Probably the size of a small library.

Walking to the center of the large chamber, he discreetly looked around at all the equipment. Test tubes, tons of books, various chemicals and physical samples he didn't even recognize, a number of air-tight isolation chambers, a few tables with leather straps and- ' _Yes! Research notes_ '

They were on a table to the right of the labs center and stacked until they were as tall as _him_. They each had a type of label to signify the contents, groups of them kept together to show they were connected to a particular range of subject matter.

Taking a random book to start reading, he was surprised to note that he had no trouble reading a language he didn't even recognize. Was it the Language ability that was common of Devils in the series? But he thought that was only expressed through actual vocal language, not written. Or maybe Vashyron's memories were somehow expressing themselves through as an automatic translator? Either way, it was really helping him right now.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a rustling behind him. He turned around to see the source and… ' _Why is Rita stripping her clothes off!?_ '

Yes, that's what he was seeing. Rita was stripping off her clothes with trembling hands in front of one of the tables with…the leather straps. Oh, no wonder she seemed so forlorn when he asked her to lead him here. She thought he was gonna…..

"Stop," he ordered.

She froze in place, her hands at the straps of her underwear as she stood in shock. Turning slowly around, she looked at him with wide eyes, surprise and terror fighting for dominance. When she spoke, her words sounded small and frightened, like a small child. "Master Vashyron?"

He slowly walked toward her and the terror in her eyes won as she started shivering, nearly recoiling from him as he carefully put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you for escorting me," he said gently, trying not to scare her. "That will be all. You may put your clothes back on and go."

Slowly pulling his hand back, he pulled away from her. The woman was obviously not expecting this, she just stood there in shock for what seemed like forever, her hands still holding the bands of her underwear before, finally, she responded.

She moved slowly, cautiously, as if she worried that he might change his mind and do something horrible to her on a whim.

If what he was learning about Vashyron was any indication, he _really_ couldn't blame her. The more he learned about the previous possessor of this body the more he wished the bastard was burning in eternal agony in the _real_ hell. The fire and brimstone kind filled with eternal torment.

But he was still in his body. He still had the bastards _name_ even. Dammit, at this point he was starting to think he'd get sick if people kept calling him Vashyron at all.

As Rita finished clothing herself and walked toward the door, he couldn't stop himself from calling out to her. "Rita."

She froze in place and started shivering. He wasn't sure if it was fear this time, because she was clenching her fists and trying to visibly calm herself down. For a moment, he even thought she was going to attack him, but with visible effort she was able to calm herself down.

Turning to face him, he was met with perhaps the coldest glare he'd ever seen before. So filled with icy rage that he wasn't whether or not it would literally freeze him. "Yes, Master Vashyron," she spoke lowly, her words as cold and menacing as her eyes.

Honestly, he was a little surprised he didn't flinch back or give _any_ response to her look. "From now on…." he paused, unsure of what to say. He'd just called out to her on impulse, unsure of what he even wanted to say. Still, he had to say something. Groping around the inside of his mind, he said the first thing that coherently formed on his tongue. "From now on, please just call me Vashyr."

The words weren't entirely voluntary, but nor were they completely _in_ voluntary. It just felt like something that he needed to say, something to make clear.

The more he thought about it, though, the more he thought it was for the best. He may be living in Vashyron's house, he may be using Vashyron's lab, he may even be using Vashyron's body, but he refused to ever _be_ him. Ever since he came and woke up in this world, every moment seemed to be a reminder of what a twisted little _shit_ he was, and he _refused_ to use his name. Granted, Vashyr wasn't exactly a change from it, just a shortening, but it would do. Besides, it was impossible for him to use whatever his old name was, he might as well pick one now.

As Rita stared back at him right in the eye, her glare seemed to get even colder. It was as if she took his command as some kind of deep insult. Despite that, she still acknowledged the order with a brief and said, "Of course, Master Vashyr."

And with those words, she left. She also took it as a chance to slam the door to the lab. _Hard_.

He released a deep sigh, wondering just what the _fuck_ Vashyron could've done to make that woman hate him so much. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't gonna clear up any time soon, maybe not ever. "She could be a problem," he muttered.

But he had more important things to deal with. Primarily, learning as much from these research notes as he could. He was standing in a treasure trove of information that could be the difference between life and death in this world, and he had _no_ intention of dying like last time.

Turning back to the table of books, he started looking for anything useful, particularly anything regarding his own abilities. That, in particular, was paramount.

Maybe he was being paranoid. Hell, maybe he was just a little crazy from this whole reincarnation business, but that didn't matter to him right now. What mattered was getting stronger. _Much_ stronger. As fast as possible.

Some people from back at home might ask him why that was so important. Why should he be so concerned about getting stronger in a light-hearted series about harems and boobs and some perverted loser who always got _just_ lucky enough to win? Well, news flash, _this world wasn't a safe place_!

Kokabiel, the Old Satan Faction, the Khaos Brigade, Qlippoth, the Hero Faction and who could possibly forget about freakin' _Trihexa_!

The world may have been light-hearted _on the surface_ , but if you dug beneath all the humor and perverted idiocy you'd find a world that had the potential to be _shockingly_ dark and terrifying. Terrifying for the weak, most of all.

So that was why he was focused on gaining strength. He was helpless enough in his past life and he'd _died_! If he was just a little faster, he could've pushed the girl outta the way of that car and jumped away. If he'd had better reflexes, he probably would've moved sooner and avoided the car entirely. If he was stronger, he probably would've survived the impact. He'd died from something so trivial, but in this world there were so _many_ other ways for him to be killed.

He refused to let something like that happen again. He refused to be _weak_. He refused to be just another side character that waited for the _hero_ to magically appear and save him. _He refused to be just some fucking leaf caught up in every storm that passed by_!

He was going to become strong in this world full of monsters. He was gonna become strong enough to stand tall with the strongest. He would become a _TITAN_ that could crush all who threatened him.

And he wasn't going to let anything stand in his way.

oOoOoOoOo Rita Lupo oOoOoOoOo

The serving staff saw her coming, but not a single one spoke to her as she stomped through the hall, fuming. That was smart of them, really, because with just how angry she was, Rita just might've slammed them through the walls for so much as greeting her. She wasn't usually this nasty to anyone, she did her best to even be cheerful and upbeat when she could because _someone_ had to keep everyone else here from getting too depressed. But right now she was practically seeing _red_ , and it was all because of one thin. Or, more accurately, one person.

' _The nerve of that disgusting bastard. The fucking NERVE!_ '

She knew he was cruel, but she never thought he'd do something so _low_. Ordering her to _escort_ him to his own lab, the place where he had used her as a damn test subject _so_ many times, then turn around and say he didn't even _need_ her there.

She could still fell the place where he _touched_ her. For a moment, she thought it was gonna be one of _those_ days. The ones where he bent her over a table and _used_ her like some damned meat puppet to release all of his frustrations. The thought almost made her throw up!

Oh, but that's not why she was so angry, why she was so _fucking ENRAGED_! No, what got her so _pissed_ is that, after _everything_ he'd done to her, he still had the _NERVE_ to pretend to be nice to her. It's like he was trying to insult her somehow, pretending he actually gave a damn about her.

Inside, she couldn't help but be a little confused by it all. He'd been acting strangely since she and the others had approached him in his room, acting like everything looked so new and unexpected. It had to be some kind of act, some little trick he'd came up with just to mess with them. Pretending to be nice just so he could _break them_ even more.

If he wanted to experiment on her, fine. If he wanted to _use_ her, fine. She'd practically expected that when she'd been recruited into his Peerage, she even did her best to cover for the other girls so they wouldn't suffer the worst of it. But if he kept up this act, this _joke_ , this sick little game of his, she wasn't sure how long it would be before she snapped.

In fact, maybe it would be better if she snapped. If that happened, she'd just kill him and be free. So she'd become a Stray, so what? It's not like that was any worse than what she'd been going through here.

Besides, if she played her cards right, maybe she'd get what she _needed_ along with what she _wanted_.

"Just a little longer, Aria," she whispered, her voice somehow both soft as silk and sharp as a knife. "Just wait a little longer."

 **xXx**

So, now we get a slightly more detailed look about Vashyron's history, along with a little glimpse into Rita's thoughts. What's she gonna do? Find out in the next chapter.

Anyway, as for Vashyron's attitude, I'm kinda surprised it hasn't popped up before in other self-insert fics. I mean, if you actually look under the often humorous or idiotic surface of any show and look at the basic stuff underneath it all, you'll often find a setting that is scary at best or nightmare fuel at worst.

Want some examples? Bleach, a world where humans are at the bottom of a supernatural food chain and constantly preyed on by horrifying monsters. Naruto, a series about child soldiers being trained to kill in a world that essentially runs on a cold war economy. DragonBall Z, a series where entire worlds and civilizations are wiped out on the whims of superpowered maniacs and the whole earth has been depopulated _several times over_! Really, it's kinda easy to make a game out of finding out just how terrifying anime shows can be under all the smoke and mirrors.

But, despite that, almost _no_ fanfics, especially self-inserts, actually explore what kind of mindset someone would need to survive in such a terrifying world. The always find out they're a self-insert and start thinking, 'Oh wow, I can help so many people'. How can you think about _helping_ anyone when you're probably not even strong enough to help _yourself_?

This is why there's one other fic in particular that helped form the inspiration for this fic. 'A World Full of Monsters', by Fahad09. It's a really incredible fic because it explores exactly what kind of mindset you'd expect from someone determined to survive after waking up in such a terrifying world. He's not interested in world peace or understanding, he's interested in _surviving_ by becoming as strong as possible to the exclusion of almost anything else, with all the good and bad that kind of focus implies. That's the kind of mindset I'm trying to give Vashyr, although he probably won't be _quite_ as dark about it has Hikaru.

Make no mistake, though. Vashyr will be _very_ determined and driven to become stronger, he's got plenty of motivation and I'll be sure to explore how it affects the world and people around him.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter everyone. I might be late saying it but, Merry Christmas!


	3. Healing Old Wounds

Chapter 3

 **Healing Old Wounds**

Hello – Text

"Hello" – Talking

' _Hello_ ' – Thinking

 _Hello_ – Emphasis

oOoOoOoOo – Scene Break

xXx – Chapter Start

 **xXx** – Chapter End

'Hello' – Important Title

xXx

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

Vashyr stood in the courtyard at the back of his manor. It was a bright day out, though somewhat chilly. Fortunately, it seemed his new body was much more resilient than his old one, or just had some personal protection from the temperature. The latter was actually just as likely, given what he'd learned.

Turned out there was much more to the terrain than just long rolling flatlands. He'd only seen a small stretch of territory from the widow of his room and out in one direction. But the rather large castle like mansion he called home was surrounded to the sides and back by a very sizeable forest.

In short, he had plenty of targets to practice on.

Holding his hand out and summoning from the well of power within his own body, he willed it to take form. There seemed to be a singular power source, but it was somehow…divided. As if the whole of it was split into three equal sections. That was how it felt.

It responded in an instant, flowing into his hand in a twisting corona of pure flickering white before coalescing into a bolt of white lightning. The construct of his power was jolting in his hand, jumping and thrumming with contained power looking for an escape. It was less of a static spell and more of a living thing.

Vashyr vaguely recalled reading that lightning could reach up to 30,000 kelvins of heat, around 53,540 degrees Fahrenheit. Roughly _six times_ the heat of the sun's surface. He couldn't help but call bullshit about how many people in fiction could get hit by these things and come out alive. Besides, if that was the case, the ambient heat would have a nasty enough convection to set everything in its immediate vicinity on fire. Then again, the lightning in question was more often than not just electricity that the user _called_ lightning. Maybe they just called it lightning because it sounded cooler?

Shaking the distracting thoughts from his head, Vashyr pulled back his arm and _threw_ the lightning bolt like a Javelin and watched it literally _bolt_ through the air.

The result was quite spectacular. The lightning bolt traveled through the air almost faster than his own eyes could follow, venting arcs of electricity as it traveled through the air. Whatever the arcs reached out to touch was immediately superheated as it was rapidly reduced to excess plasma, bursting in a combination of white and blue lights.

Then the bolt hit a tree and he got a _real_ show. The lightning didn't seem to cut or burn a way through so much as _melt_ it. Searing through the hard wood like a hot knife through warm butter and passing on to do the same to another tree, then another, and another!

After melting through four trees, it finally exploded against the fifth. The impact seemed to shatter whatever shell was holding all the power together, causing it to explode in a burst of light that could've blinded him. _Should've_ blinded him, but it didn't. Turns out the powers granted by this body made him immune to the flashes generated by his own attacks. Somewhat, at least. He sure hadn't flinched _yet_.

Instead, his eyesight seemed to get briefly _better_ as he beheld the brightness of the exploding lightning bolt and saw the results of the explosion. Everything in a twenty foot radius around the bolts point of impact was _vaporized_! Leaves, bushes, flowers, other trees and any branches that happened to be close. Even the ground wasn't untouched, with the formation of a decent sized crater at the epicenter of the blast, the rim molten from the intense heat.

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing that."

He'd been practicing with his abilities for over a week now, coming out here every day to practice over and over. One merely needed to check the surroundings to see the results. The grounds were pockmarked with a number of blackened craters and devastated trees, the scars of his previous days of training his powers. There were also areas covered in sheets of ice and places where trees and branches seemed as if they'd been blown away or sliced apart.

He was also completely _exhausted_ by now. He'd been training for hours today and he had no intention of stopping.

After Rita had escorted him to Vashyron's lab, he quickly began reading and it didn't take him long to find out his powers from the notes and journals. He'd even found out why the name Furtur was so familiar.

Furtur, also called Furfur, was one of the 72 Demons of the Ars Goetia. A Great Earl of Hell who ruled over 29 legions of demons and appeared in the form of a winged hart, holding power over storms.

In that context, he'd been unsurprised when the notes essentially told him that the power of the Furtur family was the generation and manipulation of storms and its component elements. That gave him power over wind, water, and ice and lightning. Thunder, too, if he learned how to manifest it from his lightning.

He'd been practicing out here for hours every day, only taking time to eat or read more of Vashyron's notes in the lab and try to find ways to expand his abilities. The bastard was definitely someone with a scientific bent. Something both good _and_ bad.

On one hand, it was good because it meant Vashyr had plenty of information on his new powers and ways to expand them. He was worried about not knowing what powers he had or how to manifest them in this world, he was in danger just by _being_ here. He didn't want to be in even _more_ danger just because he didn't know his own abilities. From that angle, Vashyron's experimental nature couldn't be more helpful.

On the _other_ hand, it was bad because he'd learned exactly what the bastard had done to his own Peerage.

Just like he'd suspected, Vashyron had been _horrible_ to them. Using them for any number of inhumane experiments and tests. Studying how their powers worked under extreme duress, pushing their abilities to extremes, intense and _painful_ physical examinations and worse. He'd even found points in some of the notes where it was very clear he had essentially _raped_ them. Oh, the bastard downplayed it in his notes by saying it was for _experimental_ purposes or a means of relieving stress, but there was really no getting around it. If anything, Vashyron's dismissive attitude just made it even _worse_ , because it made it very clear that he didn't even consider them people enough to call it what it was.

But the worst part came after he'd read those notes. After he'd discovered just what kind of sicko Vashyron really was. After he found out why his own Peerage was so contemptuous of him.

The part where he realized he barely even _reacted_ to the discovery. Oh, he'd been disgusted, but it was so muted that he barely even noticed it was there. He was reacting as if he was just reading a novel instead of a log of what actually happened. Of what Vashyron had done in this very body. He was pretty sure that if he was still human he'd have a stronger reaction, probably trying to keep himself from throwing up over the notes. But he felt so…clinical about it all. Like it was the crime of some distant and fictional psychopath instead of what was right in front of him. Did being reborn in this body somehow altered his mind? Now _that_ was a scary thought.

It was after that when he found out what the experiments had actually been for, written out in extensive detail near the end of one of the journals.

Vashyron wanted to evolve. More specifically, he wished to obtain his True Form.

A state possible only for Pureblooded Devils, their True Form was the purest and most potent manifestation of the unique power that flowed through their family. Vashyr had remembered seeing Sirzechs use it in the manga against Hades, turning into a barely humanoid abomination that was the purest and most devastating form of his Power of Destruction. A power that completely changed the Devils body into a physical manifestation of the abilities that defined them. Vashyron wanted to rise to the legendary status of a Super Devil, to stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Ajuka Beelzebub and Sirzechs Lucifer.

He'd even recruited the members of his Peerage with that in mind.

Rita was a Pureblooded Werewolf, capable of transforming into a form that was a manifestation of her true power and nature. Studying such an ability would be an obvious help in such research, given the rather significant similarities.

Mitsume was a Nine-Tailed Fox, a member of a race whose powers revolved around their tails and how they naturally and rapidly evolved with age. Studying a power like that could potentially bump up the timetable by a _very_ wide margin.

Adriana was a particularly rare case, a Dhampir. More than that, she was Dhampir that awakened the strange phenomenon called the Abyss Mutation. The reason Dhampirs were so ostracized by their fellow vampires wasn't just because of blood, a large part of it was _fear_. When a Dhampir was born, there was occasionally some strange interactions between the human and vampire halves of their physiology and souls. This interaction resulted in their, otherwise typical, powers over darkness and shadows similar to any Vampire to go haywire, granting them a monstrous form that was as terrifying as it was powerful.

Lastly, there was Yuria. Unlike the others who were used to _extract_ information, she was used to _test_ the information that was gained. The reason she had been chosen was because of her particular heritage, being a distant relation to the Phenex family of the 72 Pillars. Not close enough to possess their infamous flames, but enough that she had a _very_ potent healing factor that allowed her to spring back from any experiments. In short, she essentially got the worst of it.

It was both impressive and appalling that Vashyron would do all this to rise in power. There were even some notes where he mused about the possibilities of using Sage Arts as a means to utilize Touki and Chakra as a way of unlocking more power, but it was mostly a footnote. The bastard had still made it a point to search for someone with significant ability and get regular updates, but it wasn't at the top of his list.

Yet, despite _all_ that, Vashyr was surprised Vashyron could still be so fucking _lazy_! Because that's exactly what his research indicated. He wanted to get stronger but he wanted _shortcuts_ to everything. He wanted to research and plan but he didn't really _do_ anything with what he'd already learned.

Seriously, there was enough research in that lab to potentially take a small army of Low-Class Devils and turn them into a force of Mid-Class Devils all in the span of a few weeks. The kind of stuff that could completely upend the balance of power in the Underworld and he hadn't even bothered _using_ it for anything.

For crying out loud, how much progress would Vashyron have made if he just took time to train his powers with what he'd already discovered? Vashyr had been doing just that for the past eight days now and his abilities were advancing rapidly. Not exactly by leaps and bounds, but if someone compared his performance _now_ to back when he'd started, they could be forgiven for thinking it was done by two different people.

But it wasn't enough. A start, maybe, but enough? Not even close. This was child's play compared to what some of the real powerhouses in this world could do, barely even worth noticing. He needed to keep training.

Absently reaching into one of his pockets, he fished out a phial of red liquid. Holding it in front of his face, it really sunk in just how wealthy Vashyron must've been. This container held perhaps the rarest liquid in the whole Underworld, more precious than even water.

Because in his hand was a phial of Phoenix Tears. Even a single phial of this stuff was worth what the average Devil would earn in _decades_ if not longer. It was the most potent restorative yet recorded, and it had a price tag to show for it.

Vashyron had a whole damned _closet_ full of the stuff. Apparently, he'd been trying to find ways to replicate its properties.

Capping off the stopper on the phial, he brought it to his lips and threw his head back, letting some of the fluid ease into his mouth and down his throat. Just because he had a big supply didn't mean he could swig it down carelessly.

Careful to only drink a very small amount of the precious concoction, Vashyr pulled the phial away and put the stopper back on.

The effect was immediate, his exhaustion completely vanishing as his reserves of power were refilled.

Rejuvenated and ready for more, Vashyr pulled on his power and cast a pair of spells. This time, he summoned a spear of lightning in his right hand and a lance of wind in his left. Picking out a particularly thick grouping of trees, he let loose.

oOoOoOoOo Rita Lupo oOoOoOoOo

"What's he doing?" Adriana asked, her tone disinterested but doing nothing to hide the curiosity in her eyes.

Mitsume answered her, scrunching her eyes as if to make sense of the scene below her. "I think he's training. Again. He's been acting weird for days now, is something wrong with him?"

Adriana gained a quizzical look, pondering the question. "I don't know, but I think I prefer him like this."

"I don't," Rita growled, her wolf side briefly winning over. She felt a little guilty as the other two flinched back but it couldn't be helped. She was _PISSED_! She'd thought this weird behavior would only be brief, probably one or two days before he went back to his old twisted self again, but now it had been just over a week and he showed no signs of changing his behavior at all.

"Why?"

Rita turned to look at Adriana as the Dhampir spoke. It was rare that she actually spoke first, preferring to merely add short statements or interjections in occurring conversations or simply responding to someone else. So it really stood out when she was the one to say something first. Seeing Rita's puzzled expression, Adriana continued, "He hasn't experimented on any of us for over a week or even touched anybody. Why would you prefer for him not to stay like this?"

For a moment, Rita just stared wide-eyed at the little Dhampir. ' _Why? WHY!? Is she really asking me that!?_ '

"Did you really just ask me that?" Her voice came out cold. Freezing like the ice shards Vashyron had been throwing around during his training and just as sharp. She was a little impressed when Adriana didn't pull back, but mostly she was angry. "The reason I can't stand him acting like this is because it's all a big joke. After everything he's done to us, he has the nerve to act like he suddenly considers us more than test subjects and stress relief toys. That he thinks it's funny to string us along and _act like he gives a damn_!"

She shouted out the last part, releasing it at the top of her lungs right into the Dhampirs face. This time, she actually stepped back a little and started trembling. Realizing what she'd just done, Rita felt even guiltier. It wasn't Adriana's fault that she didn't understand. She and Mitsume were pretty new here, recruited only two and three months ago, respectively. They were lucky, even. The experiments they'd been put through had been pretty tame because Vashyron didn't want to risk anything big with a huge experiment or test right off the bat.

They were even luckier because Rita had covered for them whenever Vashyron had entered one of his _moods._ They were still young and innocent, she wanted to help them keep some of that, even for a little while. So, whenever Vashyron started getting lusty, she offered herself in their place. She remembered crying a few times, he hadn't exactly been gentle with her. And she never told them, either.

"I'm sorry," she whispered out, pulling the Dhampir into a hug. This girl didn't deserve that, didn't do anything to deserve all the spite and bile that had been building up inside her. Feeling the young girl relax against her, she started a gentle hum to ease her fear, a tune she learned from her own mother, so long ago.

After a few minutes of humming, the girl calmed down. Loosening her grip, Rita got down on a knee and looked her in the eye, trying to give an impression of cheer. "Why don't you go get something to eat, alright?"

The Dhampir looked at her before slowly nodding, then walked off with Mitsume behind her.

The moment they both left, Rita turned back to the sight below and glared. She didn't want them with her right now.

There's no way any of this behavior could be real. It had to fake, it just _had_ to be. The Vashyron who's tormented her for several years now couldn't _possibly_ have really changed. She just couldn't believe this was real.

The werewolf wasn't sure how she'd even lasted this long. Dealing with Vashyron had been horrible, but this stupid game of his was becoming almost _painful_. Every time he smiled, she remembered him smiling as he pinned her to a table and _tore_ into her. Every time he spoke softly to her, she remembered his insults and barked orders. Every time he insisted on being called Vashyr, she remembered when he whipped her because she didn't address him as Lord Vashyron or Master Vashyron, constantly changing his mind about which one he wanted to be called.

"I can't stand this."

She couldn't hold it back anymore. Living with this long _insult_ was tearing her up inside. If she didn't do something soon, Rita was sure she'd go insane.

And she had just the thing in mind.

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

"Holy shit, I'm tired."

He groaned the words out as he entered through the back door of his home. He'd been training nonstop and it was almost night now. The only reason he even lasted this long was because he had those Phoenix Tears to keep him energized. Seriously, they were _amazing_. He'd only gone through half of the phial for the whole damned day.

Honestly, though, he was starting to see why so many anime protagonists got stronger from quick and easy power-ups, because getting stronger from just training was a process that fucking hurt!

But he was making progress, that was undeniable. He was pretty confident that his lightning bolts could melt their way clean through someone on Sona or Rias' level, no problem. That wasn't even mentioning the blades of wind or intense sweeping gales he could summon, or manifesting large streams of water with great concussive force and manipulate it as ice. He even finally found out a way to manifest _thunder_ today! Now that would leave someone with a serious boom in their ears if he used it as a flashbang, not to mention the possible internal damage.

All in all, he felt pretty accomplished today. And now, he was ready to take a nice hot shower, eat some dinner and go to bed.

"Master Vashyr."

…Or he would, if Rita hadn't run up to him and gained his attention.

Vashyr was immediately on guard. If anything, Rita had been getting even _more_ hostile toward him as the days passed. He'd hoped the nicer approach he'd been using would get her to hate him a little less, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. So he couldn't help but be a little surprised when she approached him with what (now, he could be wrong) looked like a thin smile.

"Yes?"

"We've just received an update regarding the search for a skilled Sage Arts user. She's not staying in place for long, so you should hurry." She dropped in a bow. "I would be honored to escort you."

He blinked. A Sage Arts user? Really? He had to admit, the thought of recruiting such a person was interesting. Getting someone like that in his Peerage would allow him to potentially learn the abilities from a teacher. Sairaorg learned how to unlock Touki from nothing but intensive physical training, so learning actual Sage Arts might speed the process up a little.

Still, something seemed off here. Yes, the notes indicated that Vashyron had been searching for someone with Sage Arts, but had it really been a focus among everything else?

It was even more suspicious since Rita had essentially rushed up and offered to escort him. The last time the word _escort_ had been used between them, Rita took it as a sign that he was going to experiment on or rape her. That did _not_ set a good precedent.

On the other hand, he might look suspicious if he turned the offer down. Vashyron didn't strike him as the guy to turn down this kind of opportunity, and acting too out of character would bring too many unanswered questions.

Looks like he had no choice. Oh well, shower and dinner later, then.

"Thank you, lead the way."

She rose from her bow and, somehow, her smile seemed just a little wider. And _not_ in a good way.

oOoOoOoOo

"Rita, you're sure we're heading in the right direction?"

She turned back smiled at him again. "Of course."

Okay, something was _definitely_ wrong here. Rita _despised_ him, _hated_ him, so what the hell was with all the smiling?

She told him that the Sage Arts user wasn't too far away, but he decided to bring a coat along for the night air. He was pretty sure the cold wouldn't bother him anyway, but there was no point in not wearing another layer. Better to have something and not need it, after all.

After exiting the manor grounds, they rode a carriage through the territory surrounding his home before being dropped off by the entrance to a thick forest. A forest that Rita led him into without a word. If _that_ didn't set off the alarm bells in his head, then he wasn't sure what could.

Rita had led him in quietly, so far, but he just _knew_ she was up to something. This whole thing completely _reeked_ of a setup. She must've lured him out here for a reason, and he had a pretty good idea what it was. She led him out here, in the middle of nowhere with no witnesses, because she was gonna try and kill him.

He must've let it verbally slip out or given the realization away, because she suddenly rounded on him and gave him the most _terrifying_ look he'd ever seen.

"That's right, Master."

She attacked immediately, using all of her speed to try and rush him and pin him to the ground as she released a cry of malicious fury. A cry that sounded _a lot_ like the keening howl of a wolf.

If he hadn't been expecting it, he probably would've died right there. If he hadn't braced himself to move, she would've gotten in a lethal hit at the start.

But he _had_ expected it, he _did_ brace himself, and so when she attacked he immediately leapt out of the way of her rushing charge. Retreating to the side, he summoned up a storm of electricity from his hands and unleashed it on her. Not enough to seriously injure her, just enough to stun.

"RRRRGGGGHHHHRRRAAGGHHH!"

Unfortunately, it looked like homicidal rage was a _damn good_ painkiller. Despite the electricity shocking up and down her nerves, despite all the pain she must've been in, Rita still picked herself up and charged him again _through_ the storm of electricity!

Vashyr was so surprised that he almost didn't dodge in time. Unfortunately, he'd dodged late enough that he didn't immediately get out of her swinging distance. As a result, a wild hook from her right hand ended up just _barely_ grazing the bridge of his nose. He felt the air briefly fly past his face along with her fist and felt blood trickle from the opening.

It was only a glancing wound but _damn_. If Rita's punch had done that with a glancing blow, what would've happened if it actually landed? Was she really a Pawn, or was she secretly some kind of Rook? She definitely hit hard enough to be mistaken for one.

Barely dodging back from her next punch, he had the opportunity to actually _see_ how hard she could hit as her fist impacted against the trunk of a tree. Well, impacted was being generous, her fist pulverized it! With one swing, her fist went clean _through_ the thick trunk of wood and exited out the other side!

' _Okay, that settles it. I'm so NOT letting her get close._ '

So he decided to bring out some _real_ firepower. Summoning a lance of lightning in his right hand, he held it as a melee weapon and started slashing out.

He had to give the werewolf credit, she was staying as far away from the lance of lightning as any melee fighter possibly could. She dodged and ducked and weaved carefully around his offensive, waiting for an opening she could use.

An idea formed in his mind, causing him to overextend one of his swings and give her an opening like she was hoping for.

She was so intent on making him pay for the opening that she didn't see he only had _one_ hand on his lance. Rushing in close to kill him, her eyes widened as she saw his other hand covered in a layer of shifting green currents of wind.

She didn't have any time to back off before he let it loose, striking her with a dense collection of gale force winds. A burst of force that would've sent a small car flying or flipped over a railcar.

The poor werewolf was sent flying like a kite before she slammed with a loud _SMACK_ against one of the trees.

The look on her face was one of equal parts shock and pain, tears starting to form in the corners of her wide eyes. She let out something akin to a pained whimper as she slid down the tree to land on the ground.

' _Maybe I hit her a little hard._ '

…No. She was trying to kill him, he couldn't let his sympathy for Rita or her past with Vashyron to keep him from defending himself. If she came at him again, he'd have to hit her even harder.

But, really, did he want to?

"Rita," he called out, trying to get her attention through what must've been a haze of pain. "You're not gonna win. Just give up. I promise I won't hurt you."

She answered his statement with silence, slumping against the tree. For a moment, he thought she didn't hear him, but then she started to move.

Slowly rising up from the ground, inch by pained inch, she drew herself up to her full height and looked him in the eye. But it wasn't a look of surrender. It was a look of incredulity, as if he'd suddenly grown a second head that wore a top hat and Fu Manchu style mustache that only spoke in Japanese.

…..Wow, where the hell did _that_ example come from?

"Won't hurt me?"

He almost didn't catch what she said, it came out so soft and light that he nearly didn't understand the words.

But he _definitely_ heard the laughter. It started out as a chuckle, then developed into uncontrollable giggles before erupting into something hysterical. She actually threw her head back and started laughing straight up at the sky. He probably could've just walked off and she wouldn't have even noticed.

Then, just as quickly as it had begun, the laughter stopped. And Rita looked at him with what was probably the scariest look she'd given him yet.

Then she shouted out, "YOU REALLY HAVE THE NERVE TO SAY THAT!? AFTER EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE!? AFTER ALL THE TIMES YOU'VE ALREADY HURT AND USED ME!? DROP DEAD ALREADY!"

And right before his eyes, she transformed.

Vashyr knew from the notes that Rita was a werewolf, a Pureblooded one at that, but he didn't really _get_ what that meant until right now. When he saw Rita suddenly get on all fours and start _growing_. As her size almost immediately became too big for her clothes to contain and they fell to the ground in discarded shreds. As her face morphed into a snarling muzzle full of sharp and gleaming teeth. As her whole body became covered in thick fur the same red color as her hair and she grew a tail.

 _And he especially didn't expect her to grow to the size of a damned luxury tour bus!_

oOoOoOoOo Rita Lupo oOoOoOoOo

' _Oh, it feels WONDERFUL to do this again._ '

It had been so long since she'd last transformed like this. Since she'd really let loose and let her full strength manifest. Since she felt the sheer _freedom_ of it all.

And she was about to use that freedom by _CRUSHING_ Vashyron between her jaws!

Letting out a roar, she charged straight at him, even as he released a storm of that damned lightning against her.

But it did nothing. Nothing at all. The attack that had hurt her so much didn't even faze her in this form. A fact that Vashyron quickly picked up on as he gave up on the storm and dodged to the side of her charge.

Still, she couldn't get careless. She'd seen him training a few times and knew he had much more powerful attacks than that hand held storm, more powerful than that gust that nearly broke her back against that tree. If she let him take the time to call up something more powerful, like that lance of lightning, her transformation would suddenly just make her an easy target. One attack from something like that and she'd be done.

So she kept on the offensive, harrying and chasing him. Keeping him in her sights even as he dodged, she pursued him with a combination of snapping jaws and crashing paws, snapping through the air and crashing against the earth to cause large craters. She barely registered the sound of trees toppling, but that didn't matter.

"Rita!" the bastard called out, trying to distract her. "Rita stop this! I don't want to kill you!"

' _LIESLIESLIESLIES! Stop lying dammit!_ '

She chased after him faster. She was getting so sick and tired of this act he _insisted_ on keeping to. Just be a monster, dammit! You've never had any problem with it before!

Smashing down any trees that got in her path, the game of cat and mouse continued. Rita pursuing and Vashyron retreating, unable to hit versus unable to attack. But Rita had the advantage. Even in her human form she had incredible strength and durability, hell, she'd even been mistaken for a Rook. But in her wolf form? In her wolf form she was physically indomitable to all but the strongest High-Class Devils. That had been her glory, her pride. And with that strength and durability came equally great stamina.

She didn't need to catch Vashyron right away, she had plenty of stamina to keep this going for _hours_. And as long as she pursued him, Vashyron couldn't form attacks strong enough to seriously injure her. Especially as he started tiring out.

"Rita," he called out. He spoke more calmly this time. Not a shout like before. "If you don't stop now, I'll have to _make_ you stop."

She almost hesitated when she heard that, almost stopped attacking him. But the moment passed and she kept pursuing him, calling the bluff. ' _He's lying. He has to be._ ' He knew he had no attacks that could hurt her, that he'd get tired out and give her the opportunity to clench him between her teeth or slam him into the ground. He _had_ to know that, because he hadn't used anything yet. It just _had_ to be a bluff!

Then, right in front of her, he calmly raised his hand up. His thumb and middle finger braced against each other to snap.

He snapped his fingers. And her senses were overwhelmed by the boom of thunder.

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

He almost felt guilty as Rita's head threw itself back in a howl of agony. It very nearly stopped him from calling the thunder again, from releasing it on her. But then he remembered what she had tried to do. That she tried to kill him even when he said he wouldn't harm her. That she wouldn't listen for as long as she could fight.

He snapped his fingers, and the thunder came again. The boom shattered the air and likely Rita's eardrums with it. Enhanced hearing was only useful until it made you go deaf from something loud.

It took him some time to develop this trick, but he finally learned it today. He thought he could just generate it by manipulating the lightning he summoned up, but that theory was quickly proven wrong. So, on a whim, he decided to combine it with his ability to manipulate air and wind.

He felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. Thunder wasn't just caused by the lightning, it was caused by the rapid expansion of air in response to the change of temperature and pressure _generated_ by the lightning.

So, instead of simply sending out a bolt of lightning, he created all the _conditions_ for thunder through his ability to manipulate air and densified it. By using his wind and air manipulation, he immediately generated and gathered up a large amount of air, compacting it into a dense pocket, using his fingers to guide and condense it as they braced against each other. Then, when he snapped his fingers, he generated a tiny lightning bolt and let in travel along a path of waiting air into the larger pocket and _voila_! The lightning bolt immediately ignited the pocket of oxygen in a brilliant flash of light and booming sound, shattering the surrounding area with massive concussive force and destroying the ears of whoever was nearby.

And Rita just took two right in the face. If she wasn't so durable, he might've been worried about turning her organs to paste from the concussive force.

He didn't stop at the second snap. He went on for a third, then a fourth, then a fifth. He couldn't afford to stop until Rita was beaten. He gave her the chance to surrender without a fight and she didn't take it.

By the tenth snap, he stopped to look over the results.

Rita was back to her normal form, naked and whimpering in pain as she lay on the ground, clutching her poor eardrums. It was honestly a little pitiful.

He slowly walked towards her, not letting the injured woman out of his sight. She may have been hurt and stunned, but that didn't mean she wasn't dangerous.

She flinched when he got close enough for her to feel his footsteps on the ground. Pulling back into herself in a fetal position and shaking like a leaf. He couldn't blame her.

Then she spoke. A whisper on the wind that he barely heard. "Kill me."

"No."

"Please kill me," she repeated, stronger this time.

"I'm not going to kill you."

And then she practically got hysterical.

"KILL ME! FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, JUST HAVE A SPECK OF MERCY AND KILL ME! I JUST TRIED TO KILL YOU, DAMMIT! I WAS GONNA KILL YOU AND BE FREE! I WAS GONNA KILL YOU AND LEAVE YOUR CORPSE HERE AND LOOT SOME PHOENIX TEARS FOR MY SISTER, SO JUST KILL ME ALREADY!"

She was sobbing, now. Letting the tears flow from her face as she lay trembling on the ground. Dammit, he _really_ underestimated how much she hated him. He might not ever be safe with her around, waiting to stab him in the back.

Maybe he really _should_ just kill her. She obviously wasn't going to give up on trying to murder him, she couldn't have made that more clear. It's not even like killing her would be hard, she was badly injured already, all he had to do was summon up a lightning spear and…..just…

' _What the hell am I thinking?_ '

Dammit, that settled it. This new body or the reincarnation was _definitely_ affecting his mind somehow. Probably some leftover tendencies of this body's last owner, some kind of phantom impulses or thoughts left behind by...

' _Vashyron._ '

Dammit, he was _not_ gonna become like that. He absolutely _refused_ to become anything like that bastard.

That settled it, he wasn't going to kill her. No way. He'd find a better way out of this somehow, killing her was just the thing Vashyron would've done, which gave him more than enough reason _not_ to do it.

But how? What else could he do? Detain her, somehow? Unlikely, she was probably strong enough to break out of anything he could manage. He'd have to find some way to turn this around. To….wait a minute, didn't she mention a sister?

"You wanted some Phoenix tears for your sister, right?"

She turned her face towards him, still grimacing from the pain. With the state of her eardrums, he was surprised she even heard him at all. It took her a moment to register the words, but when they sunk in her eyes widened in dawning horror.

"NO!" she screamed, shooting her hands out to grab the ankle of his right leg. "PLEASE DON'T! DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH ME, KILL ME TORTURE ME, KEEP ME AS A TOY, BUT PLEASE DON-"

"QUIET!"

She flinched back from his shout, trembling in fear as her face angled toward the ground. But despite that fear, she still held firm on his ankle.

He really didn't want to shout at her, but he was getting _very_ stressed right now. He wanted to fix this problem between them and her panic wasn't helping.

Slowly, he took off the coat he'd brought when he left the manor and draped it over her. She was probably getting cold.

Getting down on his left knee, he carefully cupped her face in his left hand and turned her to face him. Her eyes were filled with tears and wide in fright, but she didn't turn away.

"I'm _not_ going to hurt you. I won't hurt your sister, either. I just asked you a question. Did you want the Phoenix Tears for your sister?"

Rita didn't immediately answer. She just looked in his eyes, searching for something. Trying to see if he was lying. "….yes."

"Where is she?"

She hesitated, probably not sure if he was joking or not. "Back in the manor. She was moved to the medical wing."

He smiled. ' _Finally, some progress!_ ' "Then what are we waiting for?"

 **xXx**

There you go, folks. The newest chapter of The Will To Power.

So, fun fact, but the fight scene was actually my first one. Did it work? Was it too weak? Some input would be very helpful.

Anyway, I think I might put some more work on one of my other fics for a while. If you're interested in checking some of them out, feel free to check my profile.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter folks, have a nice day.


	4. Moving On

Chapter 4

 **Moving On  
**

Hello – Text

"Hello" – Talking

' _Hello_ ' – Thinking

 _Hello_ – Emphasis

oOoOoOoOo – Scene Break

xXx – Chapter Start

 **xXx** – Chapter End

'Hello' – Important Title

xXx

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

(One Week Later)

Vashyron prepped his fingers for a snap. "Again!"

Adriana whipped into action, summoning up her power over shadows to materialize dozens of bats and unleashing them in the air. The creatures scattered about in the open atmosphere, their countless tiny wingbeats and chirps making them sound almost like a large flock of birds.

Vashyr snapped his fingers and started destroying them. The goal was to focus on controlling the size and intensity of what he'd come to affectionately refer to as his _thundersnaps_. A single large blast was a good start, but he needed to work on his control, too. What good was a particular technique if it was _only_ able to kill someone? That specialization could turn into a liability, depending on the circumstances. What was he supposed to do is he wanted to capture someone alive, say he'd kill them if they didn't surrender? That was limiting, a weakness.

With every snap of his fingers at Adriana's bats of congealed darkness, he tried to shrink down and weaken the blast to be just enough to destroy a few of them. Trying to only kill one at a time this early was unrealistic, so he'd first work on trying to limit the destruction to small groups.

He snapped his fingers so many times today alone that he thought he may have sprained some of the nerves in them.

By the time Adriana's bats were all destroyed, he'd exhausted almost his full reserves of magical power. That was actually another goal of his constant training, to build up his reserves with constant and consistent strain. It was like working with a type of muscle, it got stronger as you pushed it to keep working.

Adriana quirked her head to the side. "Are we finished, Master Vashyr?"

He grinned as he looked back at her. "Yeah. We're done for today. Thanks for the help."

He could've sworn she actually blushed slightly before giving him a light bow and heading back to the manor. Seems she was opening up slightly. That was good news, at least. He needed some good news about now. Especially after what happened with Rita.

He grimaced slightly at the memory. He'd hoped it would've ended on a better note than it did. It's not that it really ended _badly_ , just not as well as he'd hoped.

oOoOoOoOo

(Flashback)

(One Week Earlier)

Vashyron looked down at the young girl on the bed before him. Because, unlike any of the other ladies he'd encountered here, this one actually counted as a little girl. She looked roughly two years younger that even Adriana, the youngest he'd encountered so far.

She was also the spitting image of a younger Rita. The same skin ton, the same hair color, he was even willing to bet one of his own arms that she had the same eyes, too. If Rita was any indication, she'd grow up to a real beauty when she grew up.

Unfortunately, if her life support equipment was any indication, she might not last that long on her own.

He wasn't entirely sure of the details, he couldn't exactly ask Rita. She'd probably consider it as nothing more than the continuation of some big trick, so he had to piece everything together on his own.

Apparently, Rita's sister, Aria, was diagnosed with a particular virulent disease that afflicted Pureblood Werewolves. Apparently, it popped up from time to time in Purebloods and gradually weakened them to the point of near death. It was believed to stem from the long term genetic consequences of inbreeding among the limited remaining Purebloods, but there wasn't really any comprehensive information.

There wasn't a confirmed cure, but that was where Rita's joining of his Peerage came into the picture. She was hoping to work up the money to purchase a phial of Phoenix Tears to use as a cure. Not a bad idea, really. Given their incredible restorative powers, he wouldn't be surprised if they were really powerful enough to cure it. Given Vashyron's wealth and interest in certain species of supernatural creatures, he happened to be her best bet.

Unfortunately, she underestimated just how nasty Vashyron would turn out to be. He quickly found out about her sister and feigned concern, offering to keep her alive on life support so she wouldn't die early. Rita found out too late that it was a ploy to keep her under control by using her sister as collateral. Her only options were to follow Vashyron's every order or watch her sister die. What choice did she really have?

Holy hell, no wonder she hated Vashyron, hated _him_. He'd honestly be worried for her sanity if she _didn't_ hate him.

Well, at least now he had the chance to fix it.

"Gotta say," he quipped, "I can see the resemblance."

Rita didn't respond to his attempt to break the ice. She just stood behind him to his right side, watching him like a hawk. It was surprisingly intimidating, considering her only covering was the coat he draped over her while they were in the forest.

He sighed. "Tough crowd."

Reaching into his coat pocket, he fished out the phial of Phoenix Tears he'd retrieved. He wasn't sure how much of it would be necessary for this, but it was better err on the safe side. For that reason, when they arrived back at the manor, he'd headed to the storage room and grabbed a full phial.

Carefully opening Aria's mouth, he propped her up, popped out the stopper on the phial and carefully poured a small amount into her mouth. He couldn't pour too much at once without running the risk of her swallowing it down the wrong part of her throat, especially when she was unconscious and lying down.

So, drop by drop, he carefully poured it into her mouth while doing his best to ignore Rita's incredulous look.

After the first few drops, he was worried that they would have no effect. But his worries quickly disappeared when she briefly stirred, her eyes twitching slightly and her hands clenching the sheets in her hands.

He tipped the phial more deeply to pour more of the concoction down her throat. She was regaining consciousness now, so he didn't need to be entirely as careful now.

He emptied the phial and gently lay her back down, waiting for her to regain full consciousness.

Rita stepped forward to the side of her sister's bed, her attention shifting between him and Aria in the bed. He would've found her bug eyed expression humorous if the situation wasn't so serious.

Then, probably for the first time in two years, Aria spoke.

"S-sis?"

Her voice was understandably rather weak. She'd essentially just come out of a coma, it was expected that _any_ physical activity on her part would be more than a little weak.

Rita, on the other hand, was practically thrumming with barely contained energy. Her eyes stared down at her sister, but with a very distant look. It was as if she wasn't sure if the sight before her was a dream or not.

Carefully reaching out her hand, Rita touched Aria's with her own, briefly pulled back, then she grabbed onto it like a lifeline.

Her voice came out in ragged sobs, unable to hold back the tears. "I'm here, Aria. I'm here."

Seeing her like this, Vashyr couldn't help but feel like he was intruding. This wasn't a moment for him, it was for _them_.

Turning around, he left the medical wing and headed back to his own room for some sleep.

oOoOoOoOo

(Flashback)

(Next Day)

He ran into Rita in the hall the next day. Surprisingly, or maybe not, she wasn't glaring at him this time. The look in her eyes was more….searching than anything else. As if checking for any irregularities or if he was some new creature she'd never seen before. More true than she realized.

He was about to pass her by when he felt a tug on his arm, followed by a soft demand of "Wait."

Stopping, he turned to look at her and suddenly felt her hands on his face. Given that he'd seen this cliché move in anime more than a few times, he was surprised to see her face wasn't actually getting any closer.

Instead, she just looked at him with the same searching expression he noticed moments earlier. It was like she was trying to see his soul through his eyes.

Then her hands started moving around his face. Combing through his hair, feeling his jaw and cheekbones, checking his ears and chin. It was like she was looking for anything to imply he was wearing a convincing mask.

When she took her hands off his face, he thought it was all over. But then she leaned in close to put her left ear to his chest and check his _heartbeat_. The she brought her nose close and _sniffed him_. _Twice_!

He was so stunned by her strange behavior that he barely noticed when she pulled back and angled his face slightly down to look her in the eye. Her question, though, brought him to full alert.

"Who are you?"

It took all of his self-control not to freeze in place. Dammit, he'd wanted things to get better between them, but this was getting dangerous. He couldn't let anything slip.

"I'm not sure what you mean."

She didn't quite glare at him, but her expression became noticeably more intense. "Don't try to lie to me. You're _not_ Vashyron."

' _Uh oh._ ' This wasn't good.

"I don't know what you're talking abou-"

"Stop lying!" She snapped. Rita was almost glaring at him as she looked up, annoyed that he was making this so difficult. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. "I _know_ you're not him. You can't be. Vashyron liked playing games, but he never would've kept it going to the point of actually saving my sister. He never would've caved or made a concession like that." Her eyes looked over his face and body again. "You look like him. Sound like him. Have his powers. You even smell like him, somehow, but you're not him. Stop lying to me and tell me what's going on." Her eyes and voice took on a distinct note of pleading, surprising him. "Please."

….Dammit. Cat's outta the bag anyway.

He sighed. "Fine, but it's a long story." Not really, but he had to play this carefully. Maybe he could guide the conversation by curtailing certain questions through how he answered others. "Ask."

Her eyes widened as she pulled her hands back. "Who are you? Really?"

He shook his head. "I dunno."

It wasn't technically a lie. He really didn't remember _who_ he was. Or, rather, he just couldn't. He didn't like lying to her about this, but letting _anyone_ know his past as a human would potentially lead to problems. If he was another Devil it would probably be easier to make sense of it, but he wasn't. Which would lead to other questions, one in particular.

If he was human, how did he know about the Evil Pieces and the existence of Peerages and Devils? The only humans in this world that knew about that were, to his knowledge, Exorcists of the Church or hunters of the supernatural. A Devil waking up in another Devil's body was one thing. An aware Human, though? There was no doubt that they'd take him in for interrogation and it would only be a matter of time till they started getting the _real_ information out of him. That's why he had to be so careful with this conversation, there were so many landmines.

He needed to keep everyone thinking he was either Vashyron or, in the worst case scenario, another _Devil_ that somehow ended up in his body.

She looked puzzled. "You don't know who you are?"

He shook his head. "I don't _remember_ who I _was_. I had a life, I can still remember it, but my memories are kinda fuzzy. I don't really know what's wrong." Again, all _technically_ true.

Her expression underwent a quick change from confused to understanding to awe to back to confusion all over again. "How did any of that even happen?"

He shrugged. "Honestly? I dunno. I just remember dying before spending some time in a black void before I woke up in _here_." He gestured to his body to emphasize the point.

"Then where's Vashyron," she asked. She sounded a little scared and he really couldn't blame her. Someone like Vashyron prowling around with nobody the wiser was definitely _not_ a comforting picture.

"I'm not sure. He's probably dead from the…reincarnation? I'm really not sure what to call what happened."

"You mean he's….really dead?" She seemed genuinely shocked at that.

"Seems like it."

They just stood quietly in the hall for a while, awkward silence ruling between them. For a while neither really said anything. What could they say?

But, awkward silence or not, Vashyr still had some questions that needed answering. And right now, Rita was his best bet.

He got her attention with an awkward clearing of his throat. "Look. I'm sorry if I might ask anything touchy, but I have some questions of my own. Could you answer them?"

Rita nodded after a moment's consideration.

"What's the status of the rest of Vashyron's Peerage? It looks like I'll have to pick up a lot of pieces, and I've gotta start with something right in front of me."

Rita thought it over for a moment, thoughts flashing across her face. "Adriana and Mitsume shouldn't be a problem. Vashyron only recruited them very recently and didn't have enough time to _really_ burn the bridges with them." She grimaced before she spoke next. "Yuria, though. She might be a lost cause."

Oh, that could mean something bad. "How much of a lost cause?"

"She's got it worse than I did," Rita answered bluntly. Her face gained a thoughtful look as she sifted through her memories for more answers. "She was the first member he recruited to his Peerage, so I don't really know what he did to her. I wasn't a part of his Peerage whenever it happened, but…." She grimaced. "I was able to get some details from the staff that maintained the manor. They said that she was asking to be rendered a Free Pawn to leave with her fiancé. I don't know what Vashyron actually did to her but….but it was _really_ bad. It completely broke her. I don't think she's even _capable_ of being anything but terrified of y-Vashyron, now. Much less think about betrayal."

…..' _Oh, crap. I landed in the body of a REAL sicko, didn't I?_ '

"And my reputation with the rest of the Underworld?" He didn't even try to sound hopeful.

"Not as bad as you might think." What? "Don't misunderstand, it's definitely not good. There are a bunch of rumors floating around about how Vashyron murdered his own parents to gain control of the family and its resources. It's not popular, and there isn't any proof, but it's still out there. You'll have to work on that."

Murdered his own parents? Oh, come on.

"What about the experiments he did? Is that common knowledge?" He asked, desperate for _something_ he didn't need to salvage. He only realized what he'd asked after the words came out, opening his mouth to apologize before Rita held a hand up for silence.

"It's okay. No they don't know about the experiments. He was always very insistent that information on them would never leave the manor. He was probably worried about the fallout from it."

He breathed out a sigh of relief at that. Looks like Vashyron left him with more baggage than he thought, but he could find ways to deal with it. Well, that left one more thing.

"One more question," he said. "What about you?"

She seemed puzzled by the question. "What?"

"Are you gonna be okay," he asked. He needed to have an answer for this. He was pretty sure she wouldn't try to kill him again, but she had some _really_ nasty memories of all this. Being here, being with _him_ could be really bad for her. He needed to know if she would be okay, or….. or if he'd have to let her go.

She looked honestly stumped about what he meant. Taking a moment to really process it, her eyes turned towards the ground and stayed there. "I don't know," she admitted. "It's…it's hard. I know he's gone but…..but it's like I can still _feel_ him somehow."

She hugged herself in her own arms, shaking. "I've spent _so_ long hating him. So much that I don't even know what to do now. Must sound pitiful, right."

No. Not at all.

"Would you like to leave?"

She stopped shaking and her face jerked up, looking at him with wide eyes. "What did you say?"

"Would you like to leave?" He repeated. "My Peerage, I mean. I can arrange for you to be a Free Pawn. You and your sister could go anywhere you want. I'll even give you enough money to have comfy lives somewhere. Start over." He shrugged. "It's not like I'm lacking in money."

If she was shocked before, she was gaping now. Opening and closing her mouth in incredulity at the offer. The image reminded him very much of a fish out of water.

Eventually regaining her composure, she shook her head. "You can't really mean that."

"I do."

"But you'd be crippling yourself!" she shouted. "Do you _really_ know what letting me go would mean? You'd never have a full Peerage again. You'd be throwing one of your pieces away."

"I've still got eleven more," he brushed off.

Actually, while he hated to admit it, giving her this offer wasn't easy for him. _Something_ in the back of his mind was fighting hard to _keep_ it from happening. He wasn't sure if it was something from the reincarnation, some remnants of Vashyron's consciousness or just his own nature as a Devil rearing its ugly head, but it was trying to keep him from making the offer.

' _Too bad. My call._ '

And Rita just stood there, her expression shocked beyond words as she stared at him. She didn't seem to notice the tears falling from her eyes until they started to overflow. Rubbing her right forearm against her eyes and sniffling lightly, she asked, "Can I have some time to think about it?"

"Take all the time you need."

With the offer granted, Vashyr walked away. It was in Rita's court now, for better or worse.

oOoOoOoOo

(Present Day)

It had been six days since that meeting in the hall. A full week since Rita tried to kill him in a rage. Five days since Aria had made a rapid recovery from her illness. And he still didn't get an answer. He was starting to wonder if he even _would_.

He still ran into Rita around the manor every once in a while. They didn't really talk, but Rita wasn't anywhere near as hostile as she used to be. That was an improvement, at least. On the other hand, whenever their eyes met, she almost immediately turned away from him. And just before he lost sight of her eyes, he could've sworn he saw something in them. Guilt? Shame? Regret?

It was nice that she wasn't interested in killing him anymore, but he wasn't entirely sure this was the best improvement.

Any further musings, however, were cut off by the _very_ appetizing smells he caught from the dining hall.

Following his nose, he entered the dining hall to grab some food and almost froze mid-step when he and Rita caught sight of each other. Key word, almost.

Doing his best to look casual as he took his seat at the head of the table, he awaited the serving staff as they brought in tonight's dinner. It looked like a type of European Seafood soup, full of scallops, crab, mussels, clams and many other varieties of underwater fare. In short, his mouth was practically watering when it arrived.

Yes, he won't deny it, he was a big fan of seafood. Don't judge.

Adriana and Mitsume struck up a conversation, Rita sometimes intervening, but otherwise the room was practically silent. Yuria in particular seemed to be doing her very best to avoid his attention entirely. He was pretty sure she actually flinched slightly and started shivering whenever she got caught in his line of sight.

So, despite the wonderful food, dinner was a rather awkward affair for him. At least partially due to Rita almost studiously avoiding meeting his eyes.

Whatever her answer was, he hoped he'd get it soon.

oOoOoOoOo

As luck would have it, his answer would come to him that night. Not long after dinner. And as surprise would have it, he'd be getting it in his room.

Just as he was about to slip into the realm of unconsciousness, he was snapped to the waking world by the sound of knocking on his door. ' _Who the hell would wanna see me at this hour?_ '

Pulling himself out of the massive bed (no small feat), he headed over to the door and asked who it was.

Rita's voice answered. "It's me. Can I come in?"

He was surprised, needless to say. She couldn't wait until tomorrow to bring something up? He was just about to go to sleep.

But, he knew Rita must had a hard time working up the nerve for this. If he said no and turned her away, she might not work it up again. Deciding he could stay up for a little longer, he opened the door to let her in.

And when he saw what she was wearing, it took all of his self-control to keep his jaw from dropping. Because, right in front of him, was Rita all dressed up in a white nightgown that just _barely_ reached her knees. Not an unattractive sight, he had to admit.

' _Is that nightgown see-through?_ '

Really, it was hard to tell from the materials. He wasn't sure if he could _actually_ see through it, but it was close.

Fortunately, he'd had plenty of time to work on his self-control and poker face since he'd arrived in this world. So, moving aside from the entrance, he gestured for her to come inside.

Taking her first tentative steps inside, she looked very nervous. That wasn't surprising, considering she'd just walked into his room in a nightgown. Taking one step after another, she eventually reached the rim of his bed and took a seat, patting it in a gesture for him to join her.

He did so, sitting right by her side. Silent and waiting.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't really made up my mind yet."

He nodded while releasing a slight sigh. Really? That's what she came here for? Somehow, he doubted it.

"Anything else?"

She hesitated, trying to build up the extra nerve to keep going. This was obviously hard for her.

"I want your help to decide."

He rose an eyebrow. "How can _I_ help?"

Her lower lip started quivering. For a moment, it looked like the floodgates would burst, but she held it back, rubbing her eyes and using her hands to give a quick slap on her own cheeks. Whatever she had in mind, seems she was determined to go through with it.

She whispered something under her breath.

"Pardon."

She repeated herself. More forcefully, this time. "You're not him."

He looked at her in puzzlement. "I'm not him?"

"You're not Vashyron," she said, expanding on her words. "You're really not. You saved my sister. You offered to let me go. You let me live when Vashyron would've killed me at best or paraded me around as an example at worst. _You're not him_." She took a deep breath. "You know what? I think I actually already knew that. Or, at least I suspected it. The way you were acting was so out of character for him. So _wrong_. But I just ignored it. I _hated_ him so much that I ignored all the hints that something had changed and I tried to kill you." The tears were coming again, barely held back by her sheer will. "But you're not him. You're different. Completely different. If I had _you_ as my master, I could honestly say it would be a good thing. For me and my sister both." She looked at him, dismissing the barely formed tears and steeling herself. "But I have to accept you're not him. That he's really gone. And I need you to help me with that so I can find my answer for you."

Now it was Vashyr turn to have eyes as wide as dinner plates. He may have worked hard on his self-control but this….was she really asking what he thought she was. "Rita. Are you asking what I _think_ you're asking?"

She nodded, terse and quick. "I want you to have sex with me," she answered. "I have to accept he's really gone and I can't think of anything else to make it perfectly and completely clear."

He couldn't help but stare. This wasn't exactly a small thing, in any way. "Are you sure about this? I mean, _really_ sure? Is this what you actually _want_?"

She glanced down. "Am I really so repulsive?"

"No," Vashyr answered bluntly. "Frankly, you're one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen in my life. And I've _seen_ the supermodels on magazine covers." He sat up to his full height, doing his best to keep his own nervousness at the situation in check. "Besides. Are you sure you're not just doing this because you feel guilty?"

It was brief, the barest flicker in her eyes, but he saw it. "I'll admit, that's part of it. But it's not everything." She sat to her own full height, gathering her confidence. "I _know_ you're a better master than Vashyron could ever be. Somehow, I'm sure you'll eventually become more than he ever dreamed of becoming. You're a good master, a good King. I _want_ to serve you but I need to move on from what's happened." She paused, her nerves showing. "But I need a little help. And only you can do it."

He stared down at her, searching for any signs of doubt or hesitation. Any indication that she wasn't sure.

He found none. "Alright."

oOoOoOoOo Rita Lupo oOoOoOoOo

It was a full half hour later when Rita exited Vashyr's room. Nobody was around and she was very grateful for that, it wouldn't exactly be difficult to guess what happened from how she looked.

Her thighs were slightly sore, her throat just a little hoarse, and her left butt cheek still stung slightly.

But, despite all that, Rita was content. It wasn't love. It wasn't romance. It wasn't like some cheap love story where she'd fall in love with somebody just because they tested the mattress together. Life wasn't some cheap romance novel like what you could buy in a random store. But that wasn't what was important.

What's important was how it physically felt to her. How her own body responded. All those times when Vashyron had taken her, she'd felt _disgusting_. Like her whole body was being tainted by some cancerous disease from the inside out.

But that's not what she felt tonight, not how she reacted. This time, she didn't recoil. She didn't feel dirty or used or ashamed. It was just sex. Just sensations that traveled through her body. Nothing more.

She'd found her answer. And with it finally found, she walked back to her room with a peace of mind she hadn't felt for years.

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

He awoke the next day with a few feelings in his body that he didn't recognize. Some strain around his waist, tiny lines of pain on his back and…..was that a _bite_ he felt on the area between his left shoulder and the side of his neck?

' _Oh,_ ' he thought, the memories coming back. ' _Right. That was Rita._ '

Rising up in the bed, he noticed that the sleeping pants he wore were pulled down to his knees. Well, that's another odd feeling he could check off the list.

Pulling the pants back up to his waist, he was about ready to get out of bed before the door to his room opened and Rita walked in.

Wait. Actually, walked wasn't quite the right word. She didn't seem to walk so much as _glide_ along the floor. She was moving with a cheer he honestly hadn't seen in her before. Was it because of last night?

His thoughts were interrupted when she gave a deep bow and chirped, "Good morning, Master Vashyr. How may I serve you today?"

He just kept staring at her as she rose from the bow. Just took in the smile on her face and the little spark in her eyes.

He couldn't hold back the smile on his face. It was probably the happiest look he'd had since waking up here. "Found your answer?"

Somehow, her smile grew even wider. "I have my answer."

 **xXx**

There's the chapter folks. Looks like some things are _finally_ getting better for our dear self-insert. Will he be able to keep this going? Stay tuned and find out.

Now, about Rita and Vashyr. 1. Yes, they had sex. 2. No, they're not in love YET. 3. Yes, Rita is gonna be in the harem later.

One of the problems I have with a _lot_ of fanfictions, is that the romances are almost all quick and easy. I even talked about this in the Authors Notes in the first chapter. There's always some kind of romance in shows like Highschool DxD and its associated fics, but there's never any actual _relationships_. Romance comes _after_ a developed relationship between characters, _not_ before. Otherwise it just feels cheap and forced. Rita will fall in love with him, but it's gonna be a gradual process as their actual relationship develops. She's not just gonna fall head over heels for him just because they went boink in the night.

Which brings me up to another topic. Sex and its connection to romance. Sex and romance are _two different things_. Romance is an emotional connection, sex is a physical act. They can certainly be combined, but they don't come in the same package. People are perfectly capable of having sex without there being any love between them, or has nobody ever heard of guys paying to have sex with hookers? Rita wasn't having sex with Vashyr because she's in love with him. She did because she felt guilty for trying to kill him and wanted to move on from the pain in her own past. It was for closure, not romance.

Lastly, the Lemon. I'll be putting the Lemons for this story in a separate fic as a security measure to make sure _this_ fic isn't taken down. If you choose to read it, please keep in mind that it'll be my first time (insert obligatory virgin joke here), so keep that in mind, okay?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Have a nice day.


	5. Building Up

Chapter 5

 **Building Up**

Hello – Text

"Hello" – Talking

' _Hello_ ' – Thinking

 _Hello_ – Emphasis

oOoOoOoOo – Scene Break

xXx – Chapter Start

 **xXx** – Chapter End

'Hello' – Important Title

xXx

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

It was two months since Rita had decided to stay in his Peerage and things _finally_ seemed to be turning around.

When Rita's attitude towards him completely changed, it seemed to affect the other members of his Peerage and the staff of the residence at large. Where they used to be nervous or flat out terrified of him before, they had now become noticeably more relaxed and at ease. Adriana had generally become more expressive and he could swear he'd actually seen her smiling a few times at the hustle and bustle around her. Mitsume was also a little more cheerful than before, though still a little quiet. He was pretty sure she was just naturally reserved, though.

Unfortunately, not all the changes had really been positive ones. Yuria was the primary example. While everyone else seemed to be accepting _Vashyron's_ change in attitude and personality rather well, Yuria just seemed to become more withdrawn and terrified of him. It was like she was waiting for when the dream ended and the even worse nightmare came to take its place. Just what the hell did Vashyron actually _do_ to her? Frankly, he wasn't sure he wanted to find out.

The greatest change, however, was in Rita. Ever since she decided to stay, her personality had taken a complete 180. She was cheerful and bright and quite happy to engage in his favorite kinds of humorous banter. He even saw her sister up and about and he'd given her a place to really stay at the manor. The elder of the sisters also became so much more _helpful_ , really throwing herself into her now accepted role as a member of his Peerage and doing whatever she could to help.

It was a very much appreciated change and he made sure to thank her for it. She just seemed to shrug him off and keep saying the thanks weren't needed, but he could tell she liked it.

Her more helpful attitude couldn't have come at a better time, either. His fight with her and the resulting offer he'd given had opened his eyes to some important facts, a pair of important problems that needed to be addressed. Ones that, in all honesty, he was surprised he hadn't noticed earlier.

The first was regarding his own Peerage. More specifically, it's size. His Peerage consisted of some powerful members relative to their age, he'd seen proof of that with Rita. But that didn't change the fact that his Peerage was a rather small one, a weakness that needed to be rectified at some point. He'd already taken some steps to changing that, telling his servants above and beyond his own territory to keep an eye out for notable individuals.

Hopefully, he wouldn't need to wait too long. Getting a larger and more varied Peerage would go a long way towards preparations for the coming conflicts that he predicted from the original series. Not to mention a stronger Peerage would also help him with in the Rating Games, a means of gaining further influence in the Underworld and opening doors to further advance his chances of survival.

It would also mean his Peerage would be safer during the fights to come. As much as he didn't consider this place his world, these people were still _his_ Peerage and he wanted them to survive. He was honestly starting to care about them, a revelation that had actually surprised him a little.

The second problem was himself. His abilities had come a _long_ way since he'd first arrived in this world, needless to say. His powers over all aspects of storms. He could summon multiple lances of lightning and fire them without even using his hands. He could control the size and power of his thunderclaps. He could summon up great sweeping gales and shape them into slicing blades, even turning them practically invisible. His control over water and ice hag advanced to the point of being able to fire great streams or rain down razor sharp shards of ice over a wide area. His magic was a far cry compared to what it had been before.

But it just wasn't enough. Rita's attempt to kill him had been a wake-up call. The only reason he'd survived was because he was lucky enough to develop his ability to manifest thunderclaps on the same day. If he hadn't, she would've caught and killed him because he was too reliant on his magic. If he was having so much trouble against someone who wasn't even close to the top 100 in level of power, how the hell could he survive against the _real_ heavy hitters?

Developing his magical abilities was a start, something he had every intention of continuing. But if he couldn't use his magic, all he had left was his comparably lackluster physical abilities and that just wasn't acceptable. He needed physical conditioning and training, he couldn't limit himself to just being a stronger than average glass cannon if he wanted to survive here. That was why he asked for a messenger to find a certain someone to be given an offer. For the moment, he'd just have to wait.

Fortunately, one of the staff of the manor had just come back with good news. It was a report on a potential recruit, a Sage Arts user who was currently in his own territory.

oOoOoOoOo

Vashyr looked out the window of the carriage he was riding. It was luxurious, but he really thought he would've preferred a good car. "Are you sure we're heading in the right direction?" he asked.

Rita smiled at him from the other seat of the carriage. "Positive. The report given by Sebastian said the Sage Arts user was currently living in a small village in the southern quarter of your territory. She hasn't exactly been hard to find."

"Let's hope so," he said with a grin. "I'd hate for this to end up like last time."

Rita flinched slightly at his choice of words, but quickly brushed them off. "You're not still angry 'bout that, are you? I thought we got past that."

"Oh, I'm over it," he countered. "I'm just feeling a little vindictive right now. I've had a lot on my mind."

He really had. Not just about the training he needed to intensify or the need to find more members for his Peerage, but something that was both good and bad at once. The date.

He felt pretty stupid for not noticing it earlier, but _nothing_ seemed to actually be happening. Oh, time went on and he heard things, but that was what got his attention. What he _had_ and _hadn't_ heard.

Like how Rias Gremory wasn't living outside of her family mansion yet due to being 13 year old, with a similar situation for Sona Sitri who was recently showing her skills in Chess. Or how Kuoh Academy in the Mortal World wasn't open to both genders, yet. He was wondering why nothing particularly memorable had happened from the series had happened, it was because he had been sent back in time in addition to being reborn in an anime.

This wasn't entirely a bad thing, though. If nothing else, it gave him time to prepare for when everything hit into high gear.

"Thinking, again?"

He flinched slightly, shooting a grinning Rita as slight glare for the interruption. She'd gotten pretty good at reading his moods, by now. Looks like he'd have to be more careful. "It's nothing immediately important."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You and your secrets."

Ever since things had changed between them, Rita seemed to have taken it upon herself to put her utmost into aiding his endeavors. Whether it was helping him to train the other members of his Peerage or keep things organized, she was always willing, even a little eager, to give him a helping hand. He originally thought it was because she felt guilty, but it seemed more likely that she was just a hard and determined worker. Add that to her being the only one to know some of the truth about him and she was practically his current right hand.

He should really find some way to thank her for it. Maybe a nice vacation? How'd she feel about a nice trip to a destination of her choice?

Rita looked out the window to her right and twitched her head to get his attention. "We're here."

True to her words, the carriage came to a quick stop and the driver came around to open the door for them. Rita stepped out first, almost skipping down the entrance steps and giving a rather nice flash of some of her leg on the way down.

Leaving his own seat to get out, Vashyr spotted the village they'd arrived to check and looked it over. It didn't really look like a bad place to live, all things considered. The buildings were made of a combination of stone blocks and wood for their construction, seeming to be built in the style you'd expect to find in some medieval village out of any fantasy game. There was a long stretch of farmland and fields behind it and a number of pens for animals, but the most prominent building seemed to be a rather large windmill in the center of the town that happened to also have a large home built into it.

That must've been the home of the village alderman, the man responsible for overseeing it at Vashyron's discretion, currently Vashyr's. He was the one they needed to meet.

Walking along the dirt road up to the mill, Vashyr noticed that the people were currently doing their best not to stare as they went about their business. It seemed most of the glances were from men and directed at Rita, so it looked like none of them recognized _him_. Not too surprising, considering how much of a recluse Vashyron had been.

The alderman had apparently seen their approach, because he opened the door and rather formally invited them inside.

It took only a moment of conversation before the man told them about the Sage Arts user, a Nekomata who lived nearby with her sister. He was quite happy to give them the directions and they headed off.

By the time they reached the area where the two Nekomata were staying, Vashyr had gotten an idea of who this actually was. If he was right, he was about to gain a powerful new member to his Peerage, but he'd have to see her first.

Unlike the large village, this little place was nothing but a speck of land with a small hut built up. Rickety and barely standing up, the place looked like it could fall on whoever lived in it at any moment.

He was a little startled when a small voice spoke out. "Who are you?"

Stopping in place to look for the source of the voice, he looked over to the edge of one of the huts and spotted a small shock of white hair over a face with amber eyes. Young, probably 10 years old, 11 at most.

Rita answered for him. "We heard there was a Sage Arts User living here," she answered brightly, putting on her best smile. "Do you know where she is? We'd like to make her an offer."

Oh, Vashyr had a feeling this little girl knew where she was. Call it a gut feeling.

"You want to see big sis?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in a, rather adorable, questioning look. "Why?"

Vashyr answered this time. "I'd like to speak with her about an offer. Could you take us to her?"

The poor little thing looked a little conflicted, wondering what to do. Fortunately, the matter was resolved as another figure, a much more physically _mature_ figure, came out from behind her.

oOoOoOoOo Kuroka oOoOoOoOo

Kuroka immediately walked out from beside the small shack she hid behind and put herself between her little sister and the two newcomers. Asking Shirone to lead them to her didn't _sound_ threatening, but she was a little paranoid when it came to ensuring her little sister's safety.

Putting on her best carefree smile, she practically strutted ahead and introduced herself. "That'd be me. The name's Kuroka, how can I help you?"

She didn't get closer just for introductions, it was also a way to gauge their reactions to her presence and better read them.

For anyone else, the ability to read people's intentions with Sage Arts was a difficult skill that required quiet and focus. Something that could take years to master to a usable level.

Kuroka could use it as easily as breathing. She didn't even really feel any particular need to turn it off, it'd saved her and Shirone both from some dangerous points and it always paid to be prepared. But keeping it on for long periods quickly tired her out, so she saved it for times like these.

She kept up the friendly expression, but her Sage Arts caused them to practically explode in a rainbow of colors and shades only she could see, baring their deepest secrets before her.

' _So the redhead is a werewolf. Pureblood, too. That's rare._ '

That wasn't all the Nekoshou saw, either. She saw a cheerful and sunny demeanor that Kuroka was quite familiar with herself. Along with a little sister of her own and a very strong protective instinct.

The werewolf looked Kuroka over with an appraising glint in her eye. "You're the Sage Arts user we've heard about? You're kinda younger than I thought."

Truth, but not the whole truth. What did they come here for?

Kuroka shrugged. "I get that a lot. You'd be surprised how many people think a pretty face means powerless."

The Nekoshou didn't miss the tiny flinch of the werewolf's eye. She _especially_ didn't miss how the aura around her changed, shifting into a mixture of pain, hatred, shame and…remorse? "Believe me," the werewolf whispered under her breath. "I do."

Kuroka believed her.

The man spoke next, apparently trying to break his friend out of her less than pleasant memories. "We came here because I wanted to make you an offer. One that could be extended to your sister, if you'd like."

This one….this one was _much_ harder to read.

It wasn't that she _couldn't_ read him. Far from it, her Sage Arts seemed to be giving her _twice_ as many signals to work with, but they were all constantly shifting and changing so fast that she could barely keep up. She needed to look much harder to really piece together the information her Sage Arts gave her on him.

He was powerful, that much she could tell. Probably the most powerful Devil she'd personally encountered. The master of this territory, maybe?

"What kind of offer, exactly?" she asked. Normally, she'd have some idea of what a customer would ask by using her Sage Arts, but for _some_ reason it just didn't work on this guy like it should. It was so weird.

She also couldn't help but notice that he hadn't so much as _glanced_ at her chest yet. Rather surprising, given how often it happened with other men.

Then he dropped a bombshell. "I'd like for you to join my Peerage."

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

As Kuroka's eyes widened at slightly at his offer, Vashyr couldn't help but praise his luck. His guess at the information had been right on the money. He was handed an opportunity to recruit a skilled Sage Arts user into his Peerage, a new member that would go a long way.

"Your Peerage." The Nekoshou repeated, still eying him. "Are you serious?"

"Completely," he responded. "Your Sage Arts could be very useful. I make it a habit of recruiting useful people."

She just stared at him for a moment, eyes focused as if trying to tell if he was lying in some way. She looked like she would've kept staring for a while if Rita hadn't chosen to interrupt.

"We can make it worth your while," Rita asserted with her best smile. "Nice pay, warm bed, three meals a day _and_ social status for being recruited into the Peerage of a High-Class Devil. Can't get much better."

At that moment, Vashyron couldn't be more grateful for her being here. Rita just seemed to have a personable touch that he seemed to lack. A disarming personality that made this part of the recruitment _much_ easier.

Kuroka, though, was shaking her head. "Much as I like the offer, I can't go."

Rita caught on quickly. "Your sister, right?"

Vashyr barely noticed the look Kuroka shot Rita at that. It looked like….understanding? Empathy? He wasn't sure.

"Yes." Kuroka answered. "I'm not leaving her behind."

And _that_ was what Vashyron was waiting for. "Who says you'd be leaving her behind? You're more than welcome to bring her along with you. She won't even have to join my Peerage, she could just stay as a guest in the manor."

He got Kuroka's attention again as he said that, receiving another one of those meaningful looks. Seemed like she was trying to see if he was lying or not but couldn't quite tell.

Eventually, she relented and gave him a nod in acquiescence. "Sounds good, then." She gave a deep bow. "It would be my honor to serve you, Master."

Was it just him, or did she try to put in a little more of a _bounce_ in her chest as she rose back up? It was hard to tell.

oOoOoOoOo

"Well, well," Vashyr murmured, holding a Bishop Evil Piece in his hand.

Kuroka seemed a little confused by the whole thing. After agreeing to the offer and being taken back to the manor along with Shirone, he had taken the black haired Nekoshou to what would be given to her as her own room and prepared the ritual.

Except, like he'd expected, the one Bishop wasn't strong enough to induct her into his Peerage. He figured as much, seeing as how she needed to be inducted with _both_ Bishops in the original series.

"What just happened?" she asked, apparently quite confused by it all.

He gesture to the Evil Piece in his right hand. "To induct you into my Peerage, I'd need to use at least one of my Evil Pieces, like this Bishop. You probably already know that much. Unfortunately, it seems you're just too powerful for a single Bishop to be enough. Impressive."

She looked a little worried about that. "Really?" She gestured to the luxurious room around her. "No offense, but I'm really hoping you didn't just bring me into this fancy house to show off."

"Nothing like that, trust me."

Really, he didn't. He wanted Kuroka in his Peerage, she'd be a great addition, but this actually gave him some more options. He could still use both of his Bishops, but that seemed like a bit of a small waste to him. He wanted to expand his Peerage, but he didn't want to use two Evil Pieces to induct only _one_ person. He needed to do this carefully and, given time and further growth, his other Evil Pieces could grow stronger with time.

Swapping out the Bishop in his hand with another Evil Piece, he let Kuroka see it and barely held back the smile on his own face at her expression.

"You can't be serious," she accused, eying the Queen in his hand. "The Queen? You're really going to make me your Queen?"

"It's either the Queen or both Bishops. I'd say saving the numbers is a good approach."

oOoOoOoOo

(One Week Later)

Much to his surprise, Kuroka had adapted to his Peerage and her new life rather quickly. She and Rita seemed to get along particularly well if their hanging out was any indication, and their little sisters seemed to be having fun with each other as they explored all the nooks and crannies of the huge home they now lived in.

Well, maybe not _all_ of them. There were some places he didn't want _anybody_ going, the lab for instance. Other than those few places though, the two youngest inhabitants of the manor seemed to make games of seeing how many places they could hide in and ambush people in one day. Adriana was usually the one to play seeker, given how hard it was to hide from somebody who could control shadows.

But, that wasn't his current concern. What he was most interested with right now was the fact that a messenger had helped arrange a get together with somebody, inviting him to the Furtur manor. A certain someone who Vashyr had been hoping to contact for a while.

That's why he as currently sitting in his study along with Sairaorg Bael. Future head of the Bael Clan of the 72 Pillars and one of the biggest badasses of the original series of Highschool DxD.

Sitting in another chair across from him, Sairaorg was still so big that he barely even fit. His whole body was like a statue of muscle and sinew, solid as marble all around, and it was probably roughly 4 years until the canon series itself actually started.

Perfect.

The taller teen awkwardly cleared his throat. "So, Lord Furtur, you wished to meet with me?"

Vashyr waved a dismissive hand. "You don't need to be so formal. Just call me Vashyr."

The tall youth seemed a little surprised at that. Apparently, he hadn't expected him to be so informal. Taking a moment to nod his head, Sairaorg continued. "Alright then. Vashyr it is. So, why did you ask for a meeting with me?"

Vashyr motioned for a nearby servant to bring some refreshments. "It's simple," he answered, steepling his fingers in a way any Evangelion fan would recognize. "I'd like to extend an offer to be your sponsor."

The future Bael heir blinked at that. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I'd like to be your sponsor," he repeated. "I was also wondering if you'd like to have a sparring partner. I've been hoping to increase my physical abilities and I've heard of your training methods. What do you say?"

Honestly, if Sairaorg agreed to this offer, it could go a _very_ long way. When it came down to physical power, this guy was in the top percentile in the original series. Having him as a sparring partner would be a tremendous help towards improving his physical capabilities and fighting skills in general. With learning Sage Arts from Kuroka in addition to Sairaorg's intense physical regimen, he could probably even unlock Touki in a few years.

The surprise on the younger Devil's face was obvious, he apparentlye hadn't been expecting this. "I gotta admit, I'm a little surprised. I thought you wanted me here to join your Peerage."

Truth be told, the thought had crossed his mind. Having Sairaorg in his Peerage would grant him a _tremendous_ combat asset in addition to access to the intense physical training. Two birds with one stone.

On the other hand, what was there really to gain that he couldn't get from a strong alliance with him? Sairaorg was gonna be damned powerful and the heir of one of the most influential families of the 72 Pillars. Having someone like that on his side and owing him a favor could be a _huge_ resource in its own right. He probably wouldn't be able to do _any_ of that if he was confined to Vashyr's Peerage, where his influence would have difficulty spreading beyond Vashyr's own. Besides, he was pretty sure nothing short of a Queen Evil Piece would be enough to recruit him, something he'd already used to induct Kuroka.

"The though crossed my mind," Vashyr admitted. "But I think we'd work best together as something akin to…..partners. I won't even really ask you for anything significant, certainly not right away. I'm just asking that you keep this early favor in mind for further down the line and help me to develop my physical abilities. If you like, I'll even provide quality lodging for you and your mother."

If there was _anything_ that could help decide this deal, it was Sairaorg's mother. She was already starting to get ill, just like in the original series. He was looking into a cure, but she'd eventually wake up even if he didn't find it. Either way, Sairaorg would be grateful for all the early help, and that was what mattered.

Besides that, Sairaorg had been dealt a pretty crappy hand and it kinda pissed Vashyr off. If he could help him out _and_ get something out of it? Well, that was a win-win.

"You're serious," Sairorg said, his eyes intense and more than a little hopeful. "You're really serious about this offer?"

Vashyr nodded and extended a hand. "I really am. Deal?"

Sairaorg didn't hesitate to take it, smiling as they shook hands. "Deal."

oOoOoOoOo

Here's the latest chapter everybody.

What, did you really think I'd have Vashyr recruit Sairaorg into his Peerage? Nah, that'd be _way_ too cheap and easy. He'll still get training, but I'm not giving him easy access to a fighter with _that_ kinda power. Besides, Sairaorg is probably the only competition he'll have during the Young Devils Gathering. Yes, I said it. They're gonna fight folks, and it's gonna be AWESOME!

Now, before anyone asks, I'm pretty sure someone at Vashyr's age is allowed to participate. It wasn't actually _said_ , but Issei's conversation with Rave implied that Riser could've taken part if he wanted to, and Vashyr's is roughly the same age as Riser both now and later.

Also, if anyone is a little worried about the age difference Vashyr might have with some of the members of his harem, particularly Ravel, remember that Riser was engaged to Rias in canon despite the age difference. Besides, I think I might bump up her official age here, just in case.

Sorry if it might be a little sloppy, I stayed up until midnight to see if I could make a chapter for A Scorpion's Successor and this one both in a single day. I'm actually a little dizzy right now from all the typing.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Have a nice night and I hope you leave some reviews.


	6. Curiosity And Servitude

Chapter 6

 **Curiosity And Servitude**

Hello – Text

"Hello" – Talking

' _Hello_ ' – Thinking

 _Hello_ – Emphasis

oOoOoOoOo – Scene Break

xXx – Chapter Start

 **xXx** – Chapter End

'Hello' – Important Title

xXx

oOoOoOoOo Kuroka oOoOoOoOo

Lounging on a rather luxurious sofa, Kuroka was stretching out on it like the animal her species so resembled. Garbed in her new black outfit, payed for on Vashyron's own dime, she cut quite the alluring sight. Most of her long black hair was held behind her head in a pair of long loops with the rest either draping in front of her face or kept in place with an ornately detailed headband. Wearing a deep black kimono with a red interior, the colors seemed to only accentuate her pale skin and deep curves, a yellow obi holding it in place on her slim waist. Draped on the cushions with her back down, the low cut on the kimono's chest area gave a view of her large breasts rising and falling with every breath, sensuality rolling off of her without the Nekoshou even needing to do anything.

It had been a little over a week since everything had happened and Kuroka _still_ didn't really know what to make of her new master. She made it a point to utilize her Sage Arts to better observe the shifting currents of emotions and his surface thoughts whenever she spoke with him, watching for every tell and slight fluctuation that could give something away, any hint to his character and motivations, and she still had _nothing_ to show for it.

To put it bluntly, such a thing had never happened to her before. She possessed an unnaturally high degree of skill in Sage Arts, it was something she'd known for a very long time, but she was having so much trouble reading him that she may as well still be a novice. Every time he did or said something, there was an accompanying shift in his aura that seemed to both defy _and_ reinforce it, something that should be impossible.

Through the usage of Sage Arts, the wielder is capable of seeing and interacting with the subtle and otherwise invisible and untouchable flow of chakra. The primeval energy that flows from and through all living things, connecting them together in an unending current of life and thought. It wasn't without its own dangers, of course. By connecting with that flow, the user also became connected with all the nasty little parts of people's auras as well. Anger, envy, lust, pride and every other little skeleton they left in the closet. To experience such things through the flow of chakra was _immeasurably_ more potent and keen that simply seeing or experiencing it normally. It was like feeling all those little secret shames and evils crashing into your head and swimming around in your own mind. There was a number of people who had gone crazy from the experience, but Kuroka had no intention of joining them.

Which brought her back to the object of her concern. Vashyron Furtur, also known as Vashyr Furtur, current Family Head of the Furtur family of the 72 Pillars and a Marquis of the Devil Nobility.

She'd heard the rumors about him before, though scattered and indistinct. The only thing she knew for sure from them was that he was most certainly _not_ a kind master or a friendly person in general. He was apathetic at best and outright cold at worst. There were a fair few other rumors, but Kuroka didn't put much stock in them. She'd learned a long time ago not to trust everything you hear from some drunkard in a bar. But the fact remained that, according to his own reputation, Vashyron was _not_ a nice man.

' _So why is he acting the EXACT opposite way?_ '

Since he had arrived to meet Kuroka and her little sister, he'd been nothing but affable, encouraging and even rather humorous. She was pleasantly surprised at the third trait, it was so nice to have a master that had no problems trading some verbal quips. He'd even shared some banter between her and Rita on the way back, showing he had a wonderfully dry sense of humor. He also didn't spend the whole time staring at her rather ample chest, something she considered a bit of a mixed blessing. On the one hand she probably wouldn't have to deal with any harassment, but it also took an option out of her arsenal if she ever needed to _convince_ him for some reason.

He had even been nothing but kind and gentle with her dear Shirone, another plus in his favor. She'd gotten very protective of her little sister, and she'd be damned if she ever let someone hurt her in any way.

Frankly, with all the positive examples in his favor, you'd think she would've put her suspicions to rest and leave it be, right? That she was being cautious over nothing and just a little paranoid. She thought that too, for a while, and was finally willing to let her guard down.

But that was before she first saw how Yuria reacted to his presence. How the oldest member of his Peerage seemed to flinch back slightly whenever she so much as caught sight of him. Curious, Kuroka activated her Sage Arts and almost physically recoiled from the sight of the poor woman's aura. She wasn't just nervous or scared, she was outright _terrified_ of Vashyr in a way Kuroka could only begin to imagine! She had _never_ seen someone with an aura so consumed by such soul shattering fear in her whole life. It was like the poor woman couldn't even bring herself to actually feel anything else.

And that was when her suspicion came back again with a vengeance. She had no idea what her new master could've done to leave someone so broken from their own fear and she didn't want to find out, all she cared about was making sure that he didn't get any chance to do the same to her dear Shirone. He'd have to do it over her own cold corpse.

Which made it all the more infuriating when he not only refrained from harming her, but acted with perfect affability and genuine charm and seemed to really _mean it_. It was virtually impossible to deceive a Sage Arts user outside of very rare and specific exceptions, and she had no idea how he could be one of them. Every gesture of kindness was real, every compliment was genuine and every friendly pat on her little Shirone's head was nothing more than a pure example of friendly affection. What the hell was going on here!?

" _Sigh._ I can't believe I'm being driven paranoid by some man I only just met. I must be looking pathetic."

Rising up from the sofa with a languid grace, Kuroka headed off into the halls to wander through the manor for a while. Maybe she could keep herself occupied for a while and think on this later. No point in driving herself crazy over somebody she just met. He'd have to work for it _a lot_ harder than this, she had no intention of making it easy for him.

Walking through the manor, she couldn't help but be surprised by how large it really was. Even though it had been over a week since she'd arrived, Kuroka was still a little awed at just how much space this single abode had. It was less of a home and more of a large village all pressed into a single building. For crying out loud, the whole place was even split into a number of smaller wings! From her last exploration, she'd found a medical wing, a residential wing for the majority of the staff, a treasury wing, an armory, and even an agricultural wing where the vast majority of produce was grown and harvested. And she had a sneaking suspicion that there were still even more wings that she hadn't explored yet.

Shaking the thought off, the Nekoshou continued her aimless stroll until she came upon a peculiar sight.

It as Adriana, the Dhampir girl, running from room to room in the hallway with a look on her face that _almost_ passed for frustration. Her normal expression was usually so apathetic that you'd be forgiven for wondering if she was emotionally repressed, so the slight flush of her cheeks and lowering of her brows actually looked a little adorable.

The Nekoshou shook her head at the scene, smiling in amusement at the scenario. This place was actually starting to be rather fun. "Any reason you're running door to door like someone in a cartoon?"

The Dhampir finally seemed to notice her, the frustration vanishing from her features as she tipped her head quizzically. It actually looked kind of cute, really. Adriana had just the right look to her to pull off the appearance of a delicate doll, almost fragile in appearance. Still, that apparent fragility belied a rather intimidating degree of power. Surprisingly strong for her build and a natural at manipulating her powers over darkness and shadows, Kuroka had seen her swallow up sections of the forest during training, turning it into a playground of living night. Tendrils of blackness whipping about and shattering trees with great cracks, summoning up wolves and tigers and other creatures as shadows, or even just using her darkness to physically swallow something up. Kuroka sometimes had difficulty believing Vashyron only resurrected her with a single Pawn.

Adriana's head tilted back upright. "Aria and Shirone are hiding again," she said in her usual flat tone, finally deciding on a response. "I can't find them anywhere."

Kuroka couldn't hold back the chuckles in the back of her throat. ' _They're doing it again?_ ' Ever since the two had first met, Aria and Shirone seemed all but inseparable. They seemed to spend every moment of their days playing together and just running around like happy little children. If Kuroka was grateful for _anything_ since she'd arrived here, it would be _that_. It was so nice to see her little Shiro laughing and smiling without a care in the world.

After the chuckles died down, however, something else came to mind as she saw Adriana standing in front of her. The Dhampir was a few years younger, but she'd still been here for longer than Kuroka, and not by a small margin. Maybe she could help her fill in some of the blanks regarding Vashyron and help her get some answers. Her Sage Arts usually rendered such things unnecessary, but they'd proven unreliable in reading her new master, and she wasn't about to gamble Shirone's safety over an unreliable source of info. That meant she'd need different sources. "Adriana?"

The Dhampir had turned around to keep looking for the little ones, but she turned around at Kuroka's calling out to her. "Yes?"

oOoOoOoOo Adriana Curtis oOoOoOoOo

"I'd like to ask you some questions. About Vashyron."

Adriana's head tipped slightly to the side again in question. Her master? Why ask her? Didn't she know Rita was a much better person to ask?

Still, it would be rude if she didn't at least try. "I'll answer what I can."

Kuroka gave a brief nod of thanks before she started talking. "How did he recruit you, exactly? How did he find you? If you don't mind my asking."

How he recruited her? Well, that was a bit of a story. "You know I'm a Dhampir, right?" Kuroka nodded. "Do you know what that actually means?"

Kuroka's confused expression said she didn't. "My father was a Pureblood Vampire, a Noble, but my mother was a human. The Nobility consider such relationships to be a blight upon their whole race." Her face fell as she remembered it all, being cast out by her own people and ostracized. "It wasn't a happy childhood. It was even worse after my mother disappeared."

Kuroka suddenly went pale at that. The implications were quite obvious, even if they weren't said outright. The unsaid message that the other Vampires had her killed as an example, to show others the price of committing to such a dalliance. "I was just 13 when it happened, when she vanished and my father started blaming me for it. Saying it was my fault for her disappearance."

She was almost brought to tears at the memories, but no tears real fell. She hadn't cried since the day her mother disappeared. "So I ran away. I just left it all behind and left barely five months ago, finding myself in the forests of Europe. That's where he found me, tired and hungry, and he made me an offer to join his Peerage." She shrugged. "My choices were starve or join him. So I joined him."

"And that's it?" Kuroka asked. "He didn't force you or anything like that?"

Adriana almost shook her head before she stopped to think it over. "No, he didn't force me. Not really, but I can't say I had any better options."

Kuroka took a moment to digest what she'd just said, let it sink in before she spoke again. "How's he been treating you? Has he ever been… I dunno, _less than nice_?"

Adriana's eyes flickered down slightly at the question. Less than nice, huh? That was one way to put it.

"Yes," she answered simply. "He wasn't always like he is now. He used to be much….colder. Even rather cruel." Kuroka seemed a little disturbed at that and Adriana really couldn't blame her. Adriana was actually significantly understating what things were like before things changed. Before he suddenly woke up one day and started insisting on being called Vashyr. Before he suddenly started spending almost all of his time training. He was like a completely different person now.

In fact, Adriana was willing to bet the blood in her own body that he really _wasn't_ the same person. There was too many differences, both big and small, for him to really be the Vashyron they all knew. Rita's sudden change towards him couldn't have made it clearer, suddenly becoming his most active and vocal supporter after whatever happened between them two months ago. Adriana didn't know all the details of what happened, but she knew that Rita used to hate him with a passion and she could make some guesses about why.

"What changed?" Kuroka asked, her eyes holding a curious intensity in them. "You can't really be telling me he just changed suddenly overnight, right? That doesn't happen."

Adriana shrugged slightly. As much as she wanted to, she just didn't know the answer for that. "I don't really know. If you want more answers, you should probably go ask Rita. Maybe she knows something."

oOoOoOoOo Rita Lupo oOoOoOoOo

"Jeez," Rita muttered, stalking the halls. "Where could Aria have run off to? I'm really starting to wish those Phoenix Tears hadn't worked so well." Rita loved her little sister something terrible, she really did, but she could really stand to slow down a little. It's like she was trying to make up for all the lost time while she was in a coma. It almost made the werewolf want to tear her hair out!

She broke out in chuckles at that line of thinking. Yeah, Aria was _definitely_ making up for all the lost time. She used to do this all the damned time before all this had happened, trying to make up for all those years she couldn't drive her big sister crazy.

' _Just like old times._ '

"Oh, Rita!"

Stirred from her memories by the new voice, Rita turned and spotted Kuroka, Vashyr's new Queen. "Oh, hey Kuroka," she greeted back, putting on her best smile. "Wat'cha need?"

Rita was honestly a little surprised with how well they got along, the two of them both just seemed to strike up an easy friendship the moment they met. They were both fiercely protective of their little sisters, they both had a similar sense of humor, they were both a rare sub-race of their own species, they even double teamed Vashyr on the ride back and kept him hemmed in with a concentrated verbal assault. Who said cats and dogs couldn't get along? Well, cats and wolves, but those were details.

Despite the Nekoshou's smile though, Rita could tell she was nervous about something. Rita wasn't exactly the best at reading people in general, but she was proud to say she was good at reading her friends, a category Kuroka happened to fit into. So she couldn't help but be a little concerned. "What's wrong?"

The Nekoshou _tried_ to brush her concern off, but couldn't quite do it. "I just had some questions I wanted to ask you. Questions about Vashyron."

Rita fidgeted slightly at the Nekoshou's choice of words. "Don't call him that." He wasn't Vashyron, and she'd be damned if anyone called him that bastard's name. "His name is Vashyr, not Vashyron."

Kuroka seemed to find her choice of word rather odd. Unsurprising, all things considered. As much as she avoided using it anymore, Vashyron as still his _official_ name and the one he was to be addressed by. It was probably a little odd that she so heatedly insisted on calling him otherwise.

Shrugging the oddness of her demand off, Kuroka went on ahead with her request. "Right, Vashyr. Anyway, there are some question I wanted to ask you about him. I tried asking Adriana but she didn't seem to have any real answers for me."

Rita's eyes narrowed suspiciously at that. What would she have been asking Adriana? "What did you ask her?"

"I asked about how Vashyr treated her," the Nekoshou answered smoothly, missing Rita's brief wince. "Strange, isn't it, how he seemed to so suddenly change. I mean, I've _heard_ some of the rumors and they never painted a good picture. I was a little surprised when I first met him and saw he was anything _but_ what the rumors painted him out to be." Kuroka looked at her, this time not even pretending she didn't notice the awkwardness in the air. "Then, there's _you_. I've asked around and, apparently, you used to hate him right down to his _guts_." The Nekoshou put her hands on her hips, a posture of defiance as she looked the Werewolf dead in the eye. "So what happened? Things couldn't really have suddenly gotten better one day and he's a whole new person now. What's going on here?"

Rita just looked her right back in the eye before she shook her head with a sigh. "You're not gonna drop this without answers, are you?"

"No I won't," she responded, her eyes shining with a protective glint. "Not if my little sister is at risk."

Rita wanted to be angry with her, just a little, but she could understand. She _really_ could. She'd do anything for Aria. She _had_ done everything for her, leaving herself to the tender mercies of some narcissistic psychopath. Tried to kill him and brand herself as a Stray Devil for her sake. And the look in Kuroka's eyes told her the Nekoshou would've done the same thing. She couldn't be angry with her, she could only give an answer. "Ask Vashyr," she said, holding back a smile at Kuroka's surprise at the suggestion. "Ask him and you'll get all the answers. Tell him I said it's okay."

Ignoring Kuroka's look of astonishment, Rita turned around and continued her prowling through the halls.

' _Now where is that little puppy hiding?_ '

oOoOoOoOo Kuroka oOoOoOoOo

"Ask Vashyr," she mimed, watching Rita as she walked away. "Did she really just say that?"

"Yeah, I did." Wow, she had _really_ good hearing. "And use your Sage Arts while you're talking with him. It'll clear things up really easy."

Kuroka's ears perked up slightly at that. She really noticed that? Could she smell magic, somehow? It would probably explain a few things, actually. Like how Rita's nose perked slightly when they first met and she was using it to get a read on her and Vashyr. Had she really known even then?

A sudden chill went down her spine as the thought went on a different tangent. ' _What if Vashyron knows?_ ' If Rita knew about it then there was a chance she'd already told Vashyron, that meant he would likely know about how she'd been trying to read him and noticed how Yuria had reacted towards him. And Rita still told her to go right up and _ask_ him? Was it some kind of trap?

' _No,_ ' she thought, logic slowly retaking its place. ' _If he wanted me dead for knowing something, he would've killed me already. Or at least tried to use Shirone as collateral to keep me under control. There wouldn't be any point in all this circling around and waiting._ '

Besides, something told her that Rita wasn't sending her into a trap. She'd gotten pretty good at reading the subtle cues of people when they were trying to corner her, an unfortunate consequence of being endowed with a wonderful figure and poor luck in less than stellar places to live. There had been quite a few times where a shifty eyed group of guys tried to lure her to some place nobody could hear her screaming for help. Key word, _tried_. But Rita didn't give off any of the cues, no sign that she was leading her into a trap. And, honestly, she kinda _wanted_ to trust her.

Mind made up, she took a deep breath and headed off to Vashyron to face the music. "Just ask, huh?" she mused, a curious smile forming. "I wonder what'll happen."

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

"Yes, we can have your mother moved into the Medical Wing of the manor. She'll be given one of the more comfortable rooms, with a full window and sunlight, along with around the clock service. You'll also be granted your own lodging until you decide you've found a place more suitable for yourself. Is that agreeable?"

Sairaorg gratefully inclined his head. "That would be very much appreciated," he responded, "Her symptoms have gotten worse lately, probably from a lack of skilled medical care, and I was worried if she'd even be able to survive. This will help a great deal." His face showed a brief flash of remorse. "I'm just sorry I can't repay you for this immediately. I don't like leaving unpaid debts behind me."

Vashyr waved him off. "Don't worry about it. If you want to pay me back, focus on your improvement until you can. I can wait. As for the training arrangements…." He let the question go unfinished, the implication clear.

"If you like, we can begin tomorrow. I usually wake up by around 7:30 to 8:00 for something to eat before I get started. Is that a good time?"

Vashyr smiled. "Perfect, I'll have one of the serving staff show you the way between your room and the Dining Hall. I'll also see what I can do about a map. Seriously, I've actually gotten lost here a few times, we could really use some maps."

Sairaorg smiled and looked around the study, as if peering beyond it to observe the full building. "Somehow, I think you're telling the truth." Taking a glass in front of him, the tall youth indulged in a small sip before setting it back down. A thick drink that looked vaguely like an orange colored milk. "This is a good drink, what is it?"

Vashyr smiled. "Thai Iced Tea. One of my favorites." From his human life went unsaid. It took him some time to get the ingredients before it could be made, but he'd all but had the kitchen staff make some every day. It was practically his coffee and it functioned just as well. Not to mention it was so refreshing.

"I can see why," Sairaorg responded, pulling the glass up for another sip. "Is there anything else you'd like to discuss?"

Vashyr thought about it before nodding in the negative. "Not in particular. Is there anything else of concern you'd like to address?"

The taller Devil shook his head in the negative after finishing his drink. "No. What you've already offered is more than enough. I honestly feel like I'm taking advantage, all things considered."

' _Wow. Good thing you don't know who's really getting the steal here._ ' Seriously, giving him a place to stay and his mother a place to recover was practically nothing compared to what he was about to get in return. Physical training and sparring with the strongest Devil born in generations? That was worth almost _any_ price, considering the potential results. Especially if he combined the results of the training with the teachings in Sage Arts he planned to get from Kuroka.

Shockingly enough, his new Queen chose that very moment to enter the room, apparently looking for him if her eyes landing on him was any indication. ' _Speak of the kitty and she will appear._ '

Sairaorg also seemed to notice, because he picked himself up and made for the door. "I guess it's time for me to get situated in my own room," he commented, heading out before stopping. "Um….."

"Karrick, please escort Sairaorg to his room. And show him the way to and from the Dining Hall. It wouldn't do for him to get lost."

The elderly looking Devil responded with a brief bow before walking out and leading Sairaorg as designated. Didn't even flinch this time, a good sign.

But his attention was focused on the Nekoshou who had just walked in. "Yes, Kuroka? Something wrong?"

The young woman hesitated for a moment, probably going over her options about how to approach him. She was still the newest member of his Peerage, Queen or no, so it wasn't entirely a surprise. There was a marked difference between talking to another Peerage member and talking to the King of the Peerage. A King who also happened to be a rather powerful Noble among Devils in addition to just being pretty straight up powerful.

"I had some questions," she started, watching him carefully. "It looks like you're the only one who might be able to answer them. Rita actually directed me to you." Again, she seemed to hesitate. Just what kind of questions did she want to ask? "She wanted me to tell you _it's okay_." She added.

' _Oh. THOSE kinds of questions._ ' "She did, huh?" He gestured to the seat Sairaorg formerly occupied. "Take a seat. This'll take a while."

She nodded, moving to take the seat he'd offered her. He was pretty sure she must've activated her Sage Arts. "Is my sister safe here?"

Well, _she_ was being to the point. "She's not in any danger. I have no, and I won't have any, intention of hurting her." It was the truth. Besides the fact that he had no reason to do so, he knew from the original series that Kuroka would react in a _very_ deadly way if he did. Besides, the thought of hurting that little girl just left a bad taste in his mouth. Bitter and almost vomit inducing.

Kuroka just stared at him with her eyes narrowing, probably trying to feel him out with her Sage Arts. After a moment of searching his expression and aura, she nodded and relaxed slightly in her seat. "Good."

Patiently waiting for her next question, Vashyr allowed what he knew of Kuroka from the original series to surface in his mind. A member of the Nekoshou, a sub-race of Nekomata with a powerful natural inclination towards Sage Arts, she killed her world's version of Vashyron to protect her little sister despite knowing she would be hunted as a Stray. A very powerful user of Sage Arts and Demon Arts who went on to join Vali's group in the Khaos Brigade and later become a member of Issei Hyoudou's growing harem.

He rather hoped that didn't happen this time, she got dealt a pretty crappy hand in the original series. Then again, if she tried killing _him_ , he was pretty sure she'd fail. Not to toot his own horn, but he was pretty sure he was much stronger than the original inhabitant of his current body.

"You're also not what I'd expect from the rumors," she continued, deciding on her next topic. "They've all said you're not exactly a nice person, y'know. So cold and distant to everyone, maybe even a little cruel. There were even rumors that you recruited them for something _other_ than the Rating Games or your own power." Her eyes slowly trailed down her own legs, the long limbs essentially bare. "I have to admit, I was a little worried at first. When you came by to recruit me, I thought you were just going to keep me as some kind of mistress." Her face took on a look of disappointment at the end of her sentence. "I really didn't know how to respond when you didn't give me so much as a second glance." A mischievous glint in her eye, she lifted up her bare leg and practically showed it off to him, pressing her cleavage slightly forward to give him a view. "Am I just not your type? Or is there something else going on.

Vashyr barely managed to keep a straight face at the open provocation. He was _not_ able to resist a momentary glance into her rather deep cleavage, however. He vaguely remembered from the wiki that she had the third largest bust size in the series at 98cm. She wasn't quite that size yet, but maybe in a few years. It wasn't that he didn't notice or feel some temptation, but making a move on her would feel eerily close to sexual harassment to him. Besides, he had more important things to do, like getting strong enough to survive.

She must've noticed his quick look, because he caught a glimmer of triumph in her eyes as she put her leg back down and pulled her upper body back into the chair, her eyes hardening again. "But I'm not getting that kind of feeling from you. Even when I'm using my Sage Arts. Even right now." Ah, so she _was_ using her Sage Arts right now. At least she was being honest.

"They aren't saying you're _lying_ , but your aura is….strange. It's alive and shifting in ways I've never seen before. What happened to you?"

"Are you sure you want to ask that," he asked her in turn. "I won't lie to you, but you're treading on dangerous ground here. You won't be able to walk out of here like nothing happened if I tell you. So, are you _really_ sure?"

"Yes," she insisted, seeming a little insulted that she'd meekly walk out. "If my sister is in danger in any way, even if it's from you, I won't let it happen. Not on my life _or_ yours."

Spirited. Good.

"Alright," he responded, surprising her with his forthrightness. Apparently she hadn't expected such a blunt answer. "It's quite a story, though. But first, what do you know about reincarnation?"

oOoOoOoOo

By the time he was done with giving his, admittedly somewhat altered, story, Kuroka was staring at him in incredulity. He could almost _feel_ her trying to get a read on his aura for any sense of dishonesty. He could _see_ when she reached her conclusion as her face lit up in something approaching awed shock. "You're actually serious."

He nodded. "I am."

He expected a lot of different reactions. Her shock was one of them. He would've expected fear, too, or even disbelief at the story.

He definitely _didn't_ expect her to break out in laughter and keel over hugging her gut. "Hahahahahahaha! Oh, that's _rich_! Hahahahaha! It's like something out of a bad fairy tale! Hahahaha!"

oOoOoOoOo 5 Minutes Later oOoOoOoOo

Vashyr's right brow twitched in irritation. "Oh, come on! The novelty _has_ to have worn off by now. And how the hell has your gut not busted yet?"

"I (Chuckle) have (Chuckle) no idea."

Jeez, how many laughs did this girl still have in her? This was actually starting to get a little annoying. Her laughter just seemed to go on forever.

Fortunately, her chuckles soon died down and they were able to talk seriously again. Pouring her some Thai Iced Tea from the pitcher into a new glass, he waited for her to regain her wits so the conversation could finish already.

Quickly downing her drink, she let out an audible purr and relaxed, letting her worries dissipate along with the strain in her throat from the laughter. She cleared her throat to speak. "So, you haven't told the others about this? Only Rita knows?"

He nodded. "That's right. And now _you_ know too. I expect you to help keep this whole thing under wraps."

She nodded and gave him a wave. "Don't worry, I can keep a secret. I kind of owe you _that_ much. In fact, I owe you a lot _more_ than just that." Kuroka's mischievous look changed, more an expression of gratitude now. "Really, I do. You've done a lot for Shirone and me. I don't know if I'll ever be able to pay you back for it."

"You don't need to," he insisted.

From the look on her face, that wasn't what Kuroka wanted to hear. Rising up from her seat, she walked over to him in a sensual strut. "Really? There has to be _something_ I could do." Reaching his seat, she slowly took her own seat in his lap, almost grinding against him. "Anything at _all_?" she asked, her voice low and hot as she batted her eyelashes at him. She slowly drew her face closer, teasing him before she pressed into the crook of his neck and started placing light kisses on his Adam's apple as her arms wrapped around him.

He bit back a groan as her lips went down slightly, slowly going to the point were his neck met his chest. Tightening her arms around him, she pressed her chest in closer and he felt her breasts against him, warm and soft through her kimono as her kisses on his body became more intense.

' _Holy SHIT, this girl is dangerous._ '

But before he could respond, before he could even bring his own arms around her in turn, she immediately detached from him and headed for the door. She walked calmly and at her normal pace, as if nothing had even happened. Entering the hallway and leaving his sight, he heard a shout of, "Might wanna wait a while before walking out!" and she was gone.

Might wanna wait…hold on.

Looking down into his lap he saw what the whole act had been for. The little prank when she sat in his lap and got him worked up.

' _Ah hell, she gave me a boner!_ '

Yeah, that girl was definitely dangerous.

 **xXx**

Do I find Kuroka incredibly sexy? HELL YEAH! Am I gonna write a lemon with her? PLENTY! But you're not getting them yet, folks. Feel free to express how evil I am in your reviews.

Also, I'll be trying to include the other characters more in the chapters. It might take a little work, so bear with me. It also means the chapters will probably get too long for me to type the whole thing out in a single day, so the wait time will go up. I can honestly say I've gained a whole new level of respect for Ryuugi and his tenacity in writing The Games We Play.

Also, I've noticed that I get even more pumped up to write when I'm listening to music. Go to youtube and check out the videos of Unforgiving, Unforeseen. Seriously, the dude's got great stuff.

Please review and have a nice day!


	7. Uh Oh, A Visitor

Chapter 7

 **Uh Oh, A Visitor**

Hello – Text

"Hello" – Talking

' _Hello_ ' – Thinking

 _Hello_ – Emphasis

oOoOoOoOo – Scene Break

xXx – Chapter Start

 **xXx** – Chapter End

'Hello' – Important Title

xXx

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

' _Why does my whole body feel like some kind of ragdoll? Oh, right. Training._ '

It had been roughly two months since his training with Sairaorg began and Vashyr was already starting to get some results. A Devils body was far more physically robust and potent than a human body, allowing it to stand up to much greater physical strain than a human body. The body of even the average adult Devil possessed even greater physical parameters than an Olympic athlete, in addition to a subtle but potent capability for healing itself. Add all those factors together and you had a body that could be pushed to incredible physical limits and quickly bounce back for more, an invaluable quality for physical conditioning and training.

Unfortunately, it didn't change the fact that the body still needed to actually _train_. It also meant that the body had to be pushed much harder to get significant results, which was the reason for the intense physical pain in all of his muscles from Sairaorg's intense physical regimen.

"Come on, Vashyr. We're done with the prep work, so it's time to get to sparring."

Vashyr couldn't suppress a flinch. He knew this was one of the reasons he wanted to get Sairaorg on his side, this training would pay off in dividends later on, but at the moment he just wanted to roll over die again. His every muscle felt like it had been ripped out of his body and stretched out over miles before getting crudely shoved back into his body. That wasn't even accounting for the almost literal _burning_ sensation in his lungs.

' _Screw this! I'm not backing down from a little pain, no way in hell!_ '

Picking himself up from the ground, Vashyr forced himself to his feet and took a fighting stance. Seeing Sairaorg take a stance of his own, he ignored the exhausted shaking in his legs and rushed forward.

Sairaorg's right fist came out to intercept him, clipping him on the cheek slightly as Vashyr dodged outward to get into his blind spot. Ducking low and pulling back his fist, he launched a punch at the taller Devil aiming under his right armpit. Unfortunately, Sairaorg showed he was just as fast as he was strong, pulling his arm back and blocking Vashyr's fist with his elbow and shoving it aside as he cocked back his left arm for a downward punch.

Immediately leaping away, Vashyr had the honor of seeing the ground practically _erupt_ at the point where Sairaorg's fist came down. If Vashyr hadn't dodged when he did, there was no doubt in his mind that he'd he a fleshy pancake right now. He often wondered how strong Sairaorg was before the actual start of the series, and now he was getting an answer.

It was actually a little terrifying just how fast and strong the other Devil was even _now_ , even disregarding how much stronger he'd get in just a few years. Still, this was why he'd tried to get Sairaorg on his side; access to the physical training and conditioning that would turn the other Devil into such a powerhouse in the future. And he was already getting some results! He was already quite a bit faster and stronger than he was when it all started. Hell, the first time in Sairaorg's regimen he didn't even get far enough to start sparring.

Granted, he still had a long way to go before he felt as secure in his physical abilities as his magic ones, but progress was progress.

Preparing himself after the leap back, he waited for the dust to clear as Sairaorg charged out at him and started swinging. Dodging back from the incoming blows, Vashyr ducked and weaved while looking for an opening he could use. Going under a straight punch, he launched an uppercut to Sairaorg's chin, clipping the tip before the taller Devil sent him flying to the side with a hook.

Landing-no, tumbling on the ground, he gradually came to a halt. His body in pain and probably with a few fractures in his ribs, he was pretty sure Kuroka was gonna be busy with healing him for today. But at least he managed to _touch_ Sairaorg this time. His hit actually grazed his chin, _grazed it_! Given just how fast his sparring partner was, that happened to be a pretty notable achievement, especially given that they had only started sparring roughly halfway into the two months since they'd started training.

Didn't change the fact that Sairaorg was still _leagues_ ahead of him, though. It was hardly surprising, though, given just how much longer Sairaorg had been at it. The other Devil had probably been training his body for _years_ before they ever even met.

Shakily picking himself up, Vashyr could at least say he'd learned how to take a punch. If he could still stand up after a hit from _Sairaorg_ , there probably wasn't much that could really put him down. He chose to ignore the fact that his sparring partner was obviously holding back.

Turning to Sairaorg and spitting the bit of blood out of his mouth, Vashyr charged in again. There was still an hour of sparring left and he'd be damned if he backed out because of some shaking in his knees.

oOoOoOoOo Sairaorg Bael oOoOoOoOo

"Not bad," Sairaorg praised. "You're getting better, but this is just the start. Get ready for another round, tomorrow."

Sairaorg did his best to keep the smirk off his face at the groan of dread Vashyr let out. Maybe he was being a little vindictive, but it felt kind of satisfying to see other Devils brought down from his own rigorous training. It got kind of annoying, having other Devils look down on him for his need to focus on sheer physical prowess instead of just coasting by on whatever abilities he'd failed to ever inherit. It was nice to see it was really having results.

Seeing his patron struggle to get up to his feet, Sairaorg walked over to him and held out a hand. "Come on. I think that's enough for today."

Vashyr just stayed on the ground for a bit, just looking at the hand Sairaorg held out to him. He'd gotten hit pretty hard, so he was probably seeing at _least_ triple. The thought was reinforced as he seemed to grope around at the air a few times before he got it right. Pulling him up, Sairaorg did his best to keep Vashyr steady as he regained his balance. "That's it, just relax. Don't try and force it."

Alright, now he was actually feeling a little guilty. This might be a part of the training he'd asked to participate in, he'd even asked Sairaorg to avoid going too easy on him, but he still kinda felt guilty for knocking around the person who pulled him out of a really hard place. Especially for what he did to help Sairaorg's mother.

Fortunately, Vashyr seemed to be made of some pretty stern stuff, getting back up from whatever hits Sairaorg happened to dish out and land on him. No small feat, given the results those attacks had on other Devils of similar physical ability. He was pulling his punches, but he was finding himself holding back a tinge less now.

Seeing Vashyr's eyes refocus, Sairaorg placed three fingers up. "How man fingers do you see?"

Only staring at the fingers for few seconds, Vashyr's response was to put a hand in front of Sairaorg's face and raise one finger. One very _specific_ finger. "How many do _you_ see?"

"….Alright, you're fine."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious."

Sairaorg's right eyebrow twitched in irritation. "Want me to punch you again?"

They stood glaring at each other for a moment, daring the other to look away first. It looked like they were about to go back to sparring before they broke out laughing.

oOoOoOoOo

Jeez, he always got nervous when he came here for this. It wasn't even like he was getting ready for a fight, this didn't even really present a physical challenge. But not all challengers were of a physical nature.

He was currently standing in front of a door of in the Medical Wing of the Furtur Manor, the scent of medical chemicals and sterility hanging in the air. The area wasn't especially large compared to the rest of the Manor, roughly the size of a small three floor hospital, but it was still rather impressive. He remembered learning from the staff that it was originally founded several generations ago by a long dead head of the Furtur Clan, meant to be a place of healing and restoration for the vassals of the family's allies. But he wasn't here for a history lesson. He was here to see someone.

Taking a deep breath, Sairaorg reached out and opened the door, walking on in. It was a rather nice room, for one you'd find in a hospital. As clean as you would expect, but designed with a slightly more homely atmosphere, and even having a large window with a view over a large swath of the surrounding land, sunlight pouring in to provide warmth and comforting rays.

This was his mother's room. One of the best in the Medical Wing, just like Vashyr had promised him.

Walking over to her bed, he took a seat in the chair beside it and looked upon her. He considered himself lucky to have inherited some of his physical traits from her, her hair color and skin tone, he didn't want anything to do with resembling his so called _father_.

"Hey, mom." He whispered. She was sleeping right now and he didn't want to wake her. While her atmosphere and medical care had vastly improved over before, the symptoms of her disease had gotten pretty far before they'd arrived. The doctors said she would gradually improve, but she still needed plenty of rest. No point in waking her up early, but he could at least keep her some company, even if she couldn't know he was here. "Went through some more training with Vashyr today. Guy's surprisingly tough for somebody focused on magic, but I guess that's his grit showing through." He smiled. "It's kinda nice having someone to train with, actually. It can help me measure my progress, at least. He's actually improving pretty quickly, might actually catch up pretty close to me in a few years."

She didn't answer, obviously. She was too deep into slumber to respond but, somehow, Sairaorg thought she could hear him somehow. Or at least he hoped.

"He's really done a lot for us, y'know? Given us a place to stay until we can get back up on our feet, getting you medical care for your illness, sparring with me. It's getting harder and harder to believe the rumors. I dunno, maybe they were made up by somebody with a grudge."

The one sided interaction played out for over an hour, Sairaorg just telling his sleeping mother about how the day had gone by and his plans for the future. It felt good to talk, but it also hurt a little to know she couldn't really talk back to him somehow. That's why it was always a bit of a challenge to come in here, he just didn't know what to feel.

"I miss you mom," he whispered. His voice came out strangely weak for someone so strong, as if the words struggled to get out. "I really do. But you're getting better and so am I. You're the one who told me that I could prove them wrong, the first one to have any confidence in me. I….I miss that."

Slowly, almost hesitantly, he reached out to take her hand. It felt so weak, frail, because of the effects the disease had on her constitution.

"But it's alright. You're getting better every day, and I'm getting stronger all the same. You can beat this, and I'll be as strong as you've always believed I could be. You can count on it."

It might have been his imagination, but for a moment, his mother's hand seemed to close slightly in his own.

oOoOoOoOo Kuroka oOoOoOoOo

When Kuroka learned the reason for Vashyr recruiting her, she wasn't all that surprised. It was a little surprising he was willing to _train_ for it, but not at all shocking that he wanted to learn Sage Arts from her.

Compared to other forms of magic, Sage Arts didn't possess the same aptitude for flashy and destructive results. On the other hand, it granted abilities that were all but impossible with other forms of magic. Its unparalleled sensory abilities were one such example, the power to sense movement and intention through disturbances in the flow of surrounding chakra. It also allowed the user to damage an enemy through the chakra that flowed within their own body to attack internally, bypassing most physical defenses. And by manipulating the chakra of their surroundings, a user could shift the environment to their advantage in any number of ways, to the point where masters of Sage Arts could even have limited power over space and time.

And that was while disregarding Touki, a power that granted incredible physical enhancement to the wielder. All in all, Sage Arts happened to be an extremely versatile form of magic in its own right.

So it was a little frustrating that her new student and master (yes, an odd combination, to be sure) still hadn't gotten it down yet. As his fading aura in front of her was making clear.

She bit back a sigh. "No, not like that. You're still trying to _force_ it to do what you want. Sage Arts doesn't work like that."

Vashyr let out a frustrated groan. "Then how _should_ I do it? I'm sure you've noticed my regular magic doesn't work this way, so there's gotta be _something_ I'm missing."

Honestly, Kuroka could already see why he was having so much trouble. Sage Arts didn't just have different capabilities from other magic, it was also used and manifested differently. This was true for all forms of magic in general, but Sage Arts in particular was almost diametrically opposed to magic as used by Devils. A Devil's magic was born from their own power source, released and formed into spells according to the will and order of the caster. Sage Arts relied on finding ones place in the flow or chakra throughout the world and connecting their own internal flow of chi to it. You couldn't force Sage Arts into action, only guide it. Forcing it to take form or activate through a mental command caused it to almost go against you by reflex.

The reason Vashyr was having so much difficulty was because he had so much trouble changing his approach. Instead of letting himself connect to the flow, he was keeping himself isolated too much by constantly thinking what he wanted it to do. She needed to try teaching this from another angle, but how?

Maybe a more physical approach could…..' _Ooooh, that's an idea._ '

Holding back the evil smirk that wanted to form on her face, Kuroka walked over to Vashyr and got around to his back. "First off, you need to relax."

"Relax?" Vashyr parroted, not turning to see her mischievous smile behind him. "How am I supposed to-?"

The last words were caught in his throat as she hugged him from behind. Actually, hug was probably a little too tame, Kuroka was practically holding him so tight that she almost felt like she was physically attached to him.

"Don't think too much," she whispered, positioning her mouth so close to his ear that she was almost breathing into it. "Just relax, just _feel_."

Her last word coincided with her arms tightening their grasp around him, pushing the front of her body even deeper into his back and bringing her mouth closer to his ear as she let out the slightest blow of air.

' _Oh, this is so much fun! Vashyr, you're making this too easy for me._ '

"Don't think." She repeated, her voice coming out smoother that silk sin. "Just close your eyes and feel the flow around you as your mind goes blank. Just feel the ebb and flow of the chakra around you as it links to your own chi." She trailed her hands slightly lower, down to his waist and lightly taking hold. "Now, just keep your mind quiet and open up your chi to the flow of chakra. Right…..now."

And she saw his aura light up, melding with the flowing currents of chakra around his body, unrestrained by the thoughts of his own mind. Looks like she was right, he really was a _physical_ learner.

Separating herself from him with a casual ease, she twirled to his front and looked him up and down, checking the connection between his chi and the flow of chakra. Rather well merged, for a first time. Looked like it worked.

' _In more ways than one,_ ' she mentally chimed, her eyes going _just_ a little lower.

The look on Vashyr's face made it clear he was also aware of it. He also looked none too pleased with her teaching method. "You just like sneaking boners out of me, don't you?"

She humored him with a mock gasp, turning her face away in some false semblance of injured pride. "I have no idea what you're talking about. To think you have so little faith in me as a teacher, I feel so hurt."

She turned around, favoring him with a mischievous smirk and a quick wink. "Then again, it really is kinda fun to get you worked up."

' _Oh, if looks could kill._ ' Seriously, the glare coming from him could very well count as attempted murder, looks like she got him pretty steamed. "You're pure evil, aren't you?"

Kuroka's face became serious as she turned fully towards him, placing her hands on her hips. "All cats are evil," she answered. She _almost_ seemed like she meant it, until her face broke out in a wide smile. "We just happen to know how to get away with it."

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

(One Week Later)

' _I'd like to ask how this sort of thing slipped by me, but at this point I guess I shouldn't be surprised._ '

It wasn't something especially significant, really, but still notable. It was also so obvious that he shouldn't have missed it for so long.

He didn't have a Familiar. He'd thought about what the reason could be, went over any possible excuses for it and just kept coming up blank. So, like other things about Vashyron that got him stumped, he went to ask Rita for an answer.

Turns out Vashyron had never bothered to even _get_ a Familiar. He considered it a waste of time to go and get one for himself, seeing it as nothing more than a glorified pet. The damn moron.

Fact was, Familiars were more than just pets, they were a resource and asset, even a status symbol of sorts, among Devils. It was a sign of readiness to have a Familiar, and as they grew stronger alongside their master, they would become a potent asset in battle. It was honestly kind of stupid that Vashyron hadn't bothered to get one.

Fortunately, the available date for gaining familiars happened to be close, so he was able to arrange a meeting with the Familiar Master to rectify the situation.

So, to fix the problem, he was currently in the Forest of Familiars, accompanied by his small Peerage and led by some middle aged guy who spoke in rhymes and looked like a Pokemon fan that never quite grew up. ' _Seriously, shorts and middle-aged men should NEVER mix._ ' Not his idea of a fun evening. Especially since the weather seemed to be slowly getting worse, storm clouds gradually forming and getting closer.

It just _might_ have been a little more bearable if the man could stop rhyming for at least a single sentence. "Come on everyone, let's get this team moving. We gotta move quickly, or it's a great chance you'll be losing." Ah well, a guy could dream.

' _Well, at least the others have had some luck._ '

Seeing them with their own new Familiars, Vashyr was a little impressed with their variety.

Kuroka, unsurprisingly, had gotten herself some kind of massive cat like creature. The Familiar Master had said it was a Panther. Not the fully black one that was known by humans, but a variant known in Greek mythology. Instead of just having a black coat of fur, the Panther actually seemed to have multiple dark colors adorning it, all of them so deep in colors of blue, purple, red and even green that it still could've passed for black at a cursory observation.

Rita was currently playing around with her new Barghest, a mythical European hound that stood even taller than Rita herself. Pitch black all over, with searing red eyes and armed with razor sharp claws and teeth, it was a thoroughly intimidating sight. Rather, it _would_ be if it wasn't current rolling on its back as Rita scratched its tummy, getting pleased growls out of the creature like it was an oversized puppy.

Mitsume's Familiar was somewhat surprising. A Shīsā, or Japanese Lion-Dog. A creature from Okinawan mythology, it was often featured as a guardian and protector against malevolent entities and spirits. Seemed pretty true, given how some of the more vicious creatures they'd ran into seemed to shirk away from the protective beast and its judging glare.

Adriana's Familiar was a Cù-Sìth. A Scottish creature that appeared in the form of a gigantic wolf with shaggy green hair, its tail covered in braids and streaked in white. The Familiar Master had stated that it was believed to be connected to the Grim Reaper, leading the souls of the dead to the afterlife.

All in all, it was a rather impressive line-up of potent Familiars. If he didn't get one of his own soon, he just might come out of this feeling a little inadequate.

' _At least I came, though._ ' He thought. ' _Yuria couldn't bring herself to come along._ '

It was true, unfortunately. In fact, when he asked if she wanted to come along to get herself a Familiar with the rest, she suddenly went pale as a sheet and seemed incapable of even moving from her place or speaking back to him. She honestly looked as if he was saying some kind of horrible threat to her. What did she think he was gonna do, cripple her and leave her in the forest to be eaten?

Honestly, he was starting to doubt it was even possible at _all_ for Yuria to come around to him. Whatever Vashyron had done to her, he could only be sure that it was far beyond horrible. It might even have pushed her beyond any ability for him to repair that particular bridge. All he could probably do was try to make things a little easier for her while she remained in his Peerage.

He would've let her leave as a free Pawn, but, given how she responded to his other attempts at kindness, he was pretty sure that would end rather poorly.

"Hey there, young Devil, why you standing around? Don't just keep waiting, there's your Familiar to be found!"

Oh, right, he still hadn't found his Familiar. Joy.

Unfortunately, and despite the Familiar Master's enthusiasm, he was pretty sure he wouldn't be getting a Familiar. Not tonight, anyway. They'd already been out here for a while and he didn't want to keep his whole Peerage out just to keep himself some company. Maybe it would be better to-

His line of thought was stopped by a peal of cracking thunder overhead. Not a metaphor, it was _directly_ above him. His power over storms allowed him to sense that much. It also protected him from its effects, something his Peerage unfortunately didn't have. Not if their hands clapped over their ears were any indication.

But as he looked up, he couldn't help but think something was wrong. He wasn't really trying to sense it before, but the thunder and storm felt…wrong, somehow. It wasn't natural, that was for sure. Something else was causing it, but what?

As if to answer his question, he saw a speck of light form in one of the clouds, barely visible even with his enhanced vision. It couldn't have been sunlight, it was a small and intense speck, not a spread out warmth.

Then he saw the speck _move_. Flying around in the cloud for a while before exiting it in a downward dive. He could see it practically falling, a tiny glowing grain of light against the dark sky.

But the strangest thing was that he could _sense_ it! Not like how he'd been practicing with Kuroka, but like the small light was lightning or thunder or some other aspect of his powers. How was that even possible?

Closer and closer it came down, gradually becoming clearer to him. It was some kind of bird, with the same size and dimensions of a bald eagle, but with the feathers of its wings glowing gold at the tips and seeming to crackle with electricity.

Without thinking, Vashyr held out his left arm in a falconry pose. To his surprise, the great avian landed on his outstretched arm, with an ease that would've implied a familiarity of years.

With a closer view of the creature, he realized it really _did_ look like a bald eagle, albeit with some key differences. First and foremost was the aforementioned difference in the feathers of its wings, but the birds eyes also stood out. He could almost swear he saw something literally crackling in the creature's irises, moving and shifting like it was just waiting to get out. The white feathers of its neck were also mottled with a light grey to pitch black, like storm clouds intermingling with the white.

It was a _very_ impressive bird, all said.

" _HOLY CRAP!_ "

He flinched back slightly at masculine shout beside him, even as the bird on his arm turned to apparently glare at the source. Turning, he saw that it was the Familiar Master that had shouted out, his jaw slack and his eyes wide.

But most notably of all, the man was so shocked that his exclamation didn't even come out as a rhyme. Now _that_ told him something important. "Care to explain what the big deal is?"

That seemed to snap the man out of it. "Oh, the big deal he says. Don't you know what that is? It's a Thunderbird, a _Thunderbird_! That's what shocks me about this!"

' _A Thunderbird. Where have I heard that before?_ '

The man seemed to know what he was thinking, because he quickly started filling him in. "A Native American creature, and a pretty damn big one. Wings that cause thunder, cause smart men to run. Big enough to fish whales, create winds that can push ships by their sails. So many years, so many Familiars I've seen go, but not one of these, oh hell no."

' _He's never seen someone get a Thunderbird as a familiar?'_

Looking back at the mythical creature on his arm, he pondered on the irony. Here he was, a Devil whose power revolved around storms, finding a creature that was said to cause them. Maybe it came down to him because of that particular quirk of fate.

Reaching his right hand up to it, he was surprised when the great bird seemed to softly nuzzle the side of its head against his fingers. Responding, he began lightly scratching the side of its neck and saw its feathers ruffle in bliss.

Looks like he'd found his Familiar.

oOoOoOoOo

It didn't take long for the binding rituals to finish. In only fifteen minutes, the process was over and they all had their Familiars. With their little excursion over, they all headed back to the manor to have some dinner and head to bed.

Unfortunately, nothing could be quite that simple. The moment they arrived at the manor, everyone noticed the rather ornate carriage in front of the entrance. It was empty, but apparently that just meant they had a visitor.

Vashyron didn't try to suppress his groan. He was really tired right now, but apparently he still had some work to do. He'd already dismissed Tempest, his Thunderbird Familiar, and was walking on in to find out what was going on.

After entering the Main Hall, he was greeted to a sight that immediately caused him to stiffen. The same thing happened to the rest of his Peerage, all of them freezing in place at what they saw in front of them. Well, actually they froze at _who_ they saw.

Long red hair and clear blue eyes, the man cut a tall and impressive figure, especially with the rather large and ornate pauldrons he wore. Garbed in an outfit of the finest materials, he was certainly a man of means and influence. Something Vashyr knew from the original series, among other things.

"Ah, there you are," the man said, his tone coming out easy and friendly. "For a moment, I thought I'd missed you. I thought I'd have to reschedule after I arrived only to discover you went out to get a Familiar, but it looks like I got lucky."

The man moved towards him, his long gait quickly closing the distance until they were mere feet apart. "After all, how could I not come and see the very person who had helped my dear cousin out such a bind."

' _What the hell is Sirzechs Lucifer doing in my house?!_ '

 **xXx**

There you have it, folks. Vashyr and most of his Peerage have gotten themselves some Familiars, his serious training is underway, Kuroka is still a massive tease, we get to see some more of Sairaorg and Sirzechs has dropped by. Wanna see what happens next? Then stay tuned!

Please review and have a nice day.


	8. How To Track An Exorcist

Chapter 8

 **How To Track An Exorcist**

xXx

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

It was barely several minutes since Vashyr had ran into Sirzechs in the manor's Main Hall. After exchanging greetings with each other, Vashyr invited him into the study for some privacy. He didn't know what Sirzechs had actually come down for, but something told him that he wanted to keep it between the two of them.

Seated in one of the more comfortable chairs in the Study, he had offered up the best one in the room to Sirzechs. He may have owned the manor, but Sirzechs was still one of the _Four Satans_ , one of the most powerful leaders in the Underworld. Hell, he was the strongest out of the current Satans in general. You don't give somebody like that the _second_ best seat in the house, it was practically an insult.

Surprisingly, Sirzechs actually seemed ready to accept the second best seat instead, but Vashyr convinced him otherwise by reminding him who the guest was. Sitting down, Vashyr signaled a nearby servant to bring some refreshments and asked Sirzechs if he'd like to try some Thai Iced Tea. Receiving a nod of affirmation, he placed the order and watched the server walk off to the kitchen.

"Thank you for such a warm welcome," Sirzechs commented, smiling that same friendly smile from before. "But I'm sure we both know I didn't come here just to chat. You must be curious why I'm here."

"I'm mildly intrigued," Vashyr responded, getting a little chuckle out of his guess for his attempt at playing flippant. Good to know Sirzechs had a sense of humor, that might make this a little easier. "I'm assuming it has to do with me suddenly becoming Sairaorg's sponsor."

The Lucifer nodded in response. "In part, yes. I must admit, I was curious when I heard about him being picked up by you. Then it turned to surprise when I found out you hadn't actually recruited him into your Peerage." Shifting his legs slightly, Sirzechs seemed lost in thought for a moment. "I was actually a little worried. There are quite a few rumors surrounding you, you understand. Not pleasant ones, either. I was concerned you were going to do something….that you'd _very_ much come to regret."

If the choice of words wasn't indication enough, the sudden chill in his eyes definitely was, even as his voice stayed as calm and affable as before. "I may be expected to put my responsibilities as the Lucifer before my personal concerns, and I'm fully capable of it. But harming _anyone_ in my family, extended or otherwise, would be a _very_ bad move."

' _Oh, you don't even have to tell me. I saw what you could do from the canon series._ '

In Vashyr's experience with fictional characters in power, there was generally two different kinds. The first was the kind who used being _nice_ either as a means to an end, or as some kind of insult towards whomever they were talking to. Some of the best examples were Izaya Orihara from Durarara and Johan Liebert from Monster. People who kept up a friendly façade as a tool or just a way to get some cheap laughs. It wasn't a coincidence that such characters were almost universally antagonistic in their part in the story.

The second kind was when a powerful character's niceness was actually _genuine_. When a person knows very well that they're the most powerful person in the room but doesn't see any reason to rub it in people's faces. The kind that's actually friendly in a genuine manner, but are still no less dangerous.

Sirzechs was definitely the latter example, and that was one of the reasons Vashyr was so worried to have him in his home. It's not that characters in the second category were less dangerous than the former, or even that their manners were an act, it was because such characters were powerful enough that they could _afford_ to be genuinely nice. They were strong enough that being nice wasn't counted as some kind of weakness that could be exploited.

Sirzechs wasn't just the leader of the current Satans, or the most powerful among them, he was a peerless warrior of the Underworld that not only survived, but fought in and won the most bloody civil conflict in the history of the Underworld itself. He did it by crushing the enemies that stood in his way and leaving mountains (sometimes literally) of corpses behind him. He did so by being ruthless when he had to be ruthless, cold when he needed to be cold, by being a _monster_ when he needed to be a _monster_.

So, in all honesty, the man being genuinely friendly to you didn't mean a damned thing if he decided you needed to die. For his family or the Underworld, Vashyr was willing to bet that Sirzechs was perfectly capable of bringing that old monster inside back out again.

Just like he did with Hades, showing him a power that left the Greek god of Death, one of the Top 10 most powerful people/entities in the whole series, downright terrified.

Yes, Sirzechs was nice, that much was real. But it didn't make him any less terrifying.

"I was actually quite worried at first, thinking it was some ploy to use him as a means to gain some future influence over the Bael Clan. It wouldn't be the first time such a move has been used in the politics of the Underworld. I actually sent a message to Sairaorg, asking him about his opinion of his new situation. Do you know what his response was?"

Dear god, Vashyr hoped it was a good one. Otherwise, he was pretty sure he wasn't gonna live much longer. He might be the current head of the Furtur Clan, even the last remaining member, and a powerful Devil in his own right, But Sirzechs was still one of the goddamn _Satans_. There was a very good chance that if Sirzechs wanted him dead than there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it.

So he just sat still, desperately trying to convey a calm he _definitely_ didn't feel. Trying to keep all his nervousness from showing in front of the current Lucifer. Needless to say, it wasn't easy to do. He was starting to really understand what the term _Nerves of Steel_ meant.

Then Sirzechs' coldness seemed to disappear and be replaced with that same friendly look as before. "Imagine my surprise when his response was nothing but positive. He assured me that you'd shown no intentions of mistreating or using him in any way and that he actually rather _enjoyed_ having you for his sparring partner. It was a little shocking, considering what I've heard of you before."

Vashyr did _not_ sigh in relief at that, he just tried to keep his breathing even to avoid giving some sign of just how much of a relief that was. He almost thought Sirzechs had come here to kill him in Sairaorg's defense, but apparently he made a better impression on the Bael than he'd thought. Good thing, too, otherwise Sirzechs would probably want him dead right now.

Doing his best to put on a confident smile, Vashyr spoke out in turn. "It's good to know he has a positive opinion of me. But that can't be _all_ you came to talk about, right?"

As expected, Sirzechs nodded in the affirmative. "I'm afraid so. Nothing I do can be solely based around my own family, but that doesn't mean I can't check up on my cousin as a secondary objective. Oh, looks like the drinks are here."

Indeed they were. Two tall glasses of Thai Iced Tea, colored light orange by the dark tea itself being mixed with heavy whipped cream. Resting the tray on the table, the server gave a polite bow and turned for the door, walking out with nary a word.

Sirzechs picked up his glass and brought it to his eyes, staring at it a little quizzically. Not a surprise, given that he'd almost certainly never even seen such a drink before. With a shrug, he brought the rim of the glass to his mouth and took a small sip, testing the taste.

Seeing him pull the glass away slightly and ponder over the flavor, Vashyr picked up his own glass and took some sips of his favorite drink for himself. After a few seconds of silence, he was happy to note that Sirzechs seemed to approve of the tea and started sipping some more.

"This is very good," Sirzechs complimented. Looks like the Thai Iced Tea had yet another fan. "It's like a cold, sweet coffee. I don't suppose I could get the recipe?"

"No problem. The key ingredient comes from the human world, though. I could probably arrange the delivery of the tea mix, if you'd like."

The Lucifer smiled. "That would be wonderful, thank you. But I'm afraid we're getting off topic."

As Sirzechs set his tea down on the tray, Vashyr did the same. It wouldn't exactly be polite –or even smart- to keep drinking his tea as the current Lucifer was speaking to him. Always smart to keep up your manners around people higher on the totem pole.

"I'll cut to the chase. How much actual power do you think the Four Satans really have in the Underworld?"

How much power? Was that a trick question of some kind? The Four Satans were the most powerful people in the whole Underworld, each of them a hero of the Underworld Civil War, there wasn't a single person in Hell that could beat them. Why was he asking….oh.

"You're talking about _influence_ , right? Political power."

The man in front of him nodded, silently urging him to continue.

Vashyr sighed. Answering this kind of question honestly to _anyone_ , especially a Devil, was a dangerous thing. He was pretty aware of the truth, but knowing something and saying it aloud were two _very_ different things. Still, something told him that Sirzechs wanted the truth, lying to him wasn't an option here.

"Officially, you all have no political power or influence at all. Your power over the people is solely based on their own respect for you and a willingness to do as you want them to. Otherwise, you could be called figureheads."

A tense silence filled the room, tense on Vashyr's end at least. What he said wasn't a lie, but that didn't mean it was a very popular topic. The Satans were, at least officially, the highest ranking members of the current government, but beyond being given some fancy titles they had few to no _actual_ responsibilities in the current administration.

This was at least partially because of how they had actually attained their current status, by winning a war. Regardless of what so many different shows may have implied, the ability to kick ass didn't actually equate to skills in leading people _off_ the battlefield. It didn't mean that they were the most skilled administrators or politicians, they were just very good in a fight.

As a result, the current Satans simply took on their titles to become an inspiration to other generations. They could still get some things done, but only as long as they could actually convince the right people to go along with their plans. Their political power relied on the respect and obedience they could inspire, not from their actual title.

Nonetheless, Sirzechs actually seemed pleased, nodding at his bluntness. "Correct. It's nice to find out you know when to let your words come out sharp instead of blunt." The Satan leaned back into his seat, his elbows on the armrests as he made a pyramid with his fingers. "We're by no means powerless in domestic and government affairs on our own, personal charisma can be a very powerful tool, but we still have limits to what our own power can do. Therefore, the majority of our ability to influence politics is reliant on outside parties, alliances, even our Peerage members. That's why I wanted to come and speak with you."

Vashyr blinked, picking up the implications. "Hold on a moment. Are you saying you want to…..enlist me, or something? Make me into an asset?"

"You catch on quickly," Sirzechs answered, as much a confirmation as he needed. "Before, I never would've thought of it. But now, you've shown a desire to improve that, in all honesty, is practically nonexistent among Devils of your generation. Even my own little sister seems content to coast on by with what she already has, rather than train and advance her abilities." He smiled again, friendly and disarming and putting Vashyr on guard again. "It's _almost_ like you're planning for something, or at least expecting something to happen in the future."

It took all of Vashyr's self-control and restraint to keep from choking on the air in his own throat. Sirzechs pretty much hit the nail on the head, and Vashyr wasn't entirely sure it had been an accident. Did he slip up at some point? Give the Lucifer a reason to suspect him of something? Sifting through his memories for anything incriminating, he kept a straight face while preparing to practically lie through his own teeth. Shrugging in apparent confusion, he responded, "I'm not sure what you mean. Planning for what?"

Sirzechs' smile didn't waver. "Why, the Young Devils Gathering, of course. I have to ask, are you going to be attending the one this year? I'm sure you'll make quite the impression."

' _The Young Devils Gathering? That's what he was thinking about?_ '

Granted, Sirzechs wasn't entirely wrong. Vashyr really _did_ intend to take part in it, but not for the reasons the Satan in front of him was probably expecting. It would be during the Young Devils Gathering four years from now when so many things reared their ugly heads. The Old Satan Faction, their agents and supporters among the rest of Devil society, Ophis and Vali's team in the Khaos Brigade, not to mention what was gonna come after. It was practically the beginning of when things started getting _really_ serious, so Vashyr wanted to be ready for it.

That meant training, lots of it, and building up his Peerage. Kuroka was a good start for the recruitment and Sairaorg's training regimen would do wonders for his physical abilities, so a period of four years to get ready was actually pretty good. But that didn't mean he couldn't be doing better.

But was that really all Sirzechs meant? For all Vashyr knew, the Satan could actually be implying much more than just preparing for a tournament. He was navigating a minefield, so he'd have to pick his words carefully, just like how he did with Rita.

"So you've figured it out. Yeah, I'm hoping to attend the next Gathering in four years from now and see how my abilities have improved." There, no denial or actual lying. As the saying went, the best deceptions were born from truth. It was a much better lie than actual lying, because since the words were true the person would have a _much_ harder time taking it apart. Especially since Vashyr had every intention of going through with it.

Sirzechs blinked at his answer. "Four years," he slowly commented, rolling the letters as if each one was a full syllable. "That's a little surprising, actually. Why attend so late?"

"Something tells me that four years from now would be the year Sairaorg attends." Another truth, if his information from the canon series was accurate in the current world. Just enough information for Sirzechs to draw his own conclusion.

"Ah, so that's why." Sirzechs nodded in understanding. "A showdown between you and perhaps the most promising Devil of his generation. Quite the show, I must admit. Still, is that the only reason for waiting so long?" Just a little more info should do it.

"I want to see how my skills will stack up," Vashyr _partially_ admitted. "Sairaorg is already very strong. In four years, though? He'll probably only be behind _you_ for strength relative to his age. Suffice to say I have no interest in being second place."

Doing his best to look casual, he reached out for his glass and took another sip. He needed to portray a combination of confidence and honesty right now, and acting a little casual in the face of this dangerous conversation would be very good reinforcement. ' _Come on, pay off._ '

Putting his glass back, he shot Sirzechs his most relaxed smile to seal the image. It was something he'd been working on with Rita to help keep his unique situation secret, an expression that told everyone that there was nothing suspicious going on. Judging from Sirzechs' own look, it seemed to have worked.

The Satan across from him let out what sounded like a chuckle of amused approval. "Well, you're ambitious, I'll give you that. But, it looks like we've gotten off topic." As the last word left his mouth, the Lucifer's face shifted again, becoming serious. "Back to my primary reason for coming here; yes, I'm hoping if you'd be amenable to the offer of a…..mutually beneficial arrangement between us. You'll become a formidable party one day, but that won't be happening for quite a while. So, I'd like to help your progress go by a little more quickly. You become more powerful and I get a stronger supporter. I'd say that's a good bargain for us both to work with."

Good bargain? It was a _great_ bargain! Seriously, Vashyr would have to be an idiot to refuse an offer like this. Getting help from Sirzechs Lucifer towards getting stronger was even better than getting help from Sairaorg. He might not be getting physical training out of the deal, but it still gave him access to so much _more_. Information, resources, maybe even information on prospective Peerage members. Access to those kinds of resources would be a huge advantage for him, and all in return for just giving Sirzechs some support once in a while in the future? It wasn't even worth hesitating over.

"The offer is very much appreciated and more than accepted." Extending a hand out to seal the deal, Sirzechs extended his own and they had a brief handshake to confirm the agreement.

oOoOoOoOo 1 Week Later oOoOoOoOo

oOoOoOoOo Western Ireland oOoOoOoOo

It was winter in the human world, cold and with the usual expectation of snowfall to come at any time. Well, at least it would snow in certain areas, Vashyr was pretty sure it would never snow in a place like Palestine. That said, he wasn't in Palestine right now.

He was actually in Europe. More precisely, he happened to be somewhere along the western region of Ireland, right in the territorial district of Connemara, a region west in the Province of Connacht. Unfortunately, he happened to be a little too far inland to actually be seeing the coast further west, but he didn't come here to visit the beach.

He came here because Sirzechs had informed him of there being a prospective Peerage member hiding out in the area. He'd already sent out Tempest to survey the area for potential places that he could be hiding, not to mention any areas that would be advantageous for them if a fight broke out. He'd also brought Rita and Kuroka along. Rita's sense of smell could go a long way towards tracking someone, and Kuroka had sensory abilities that seemed to be growing by the day, adding their familiars into the search made bringing them along a no brainer.

That said, their involvement was purely as trackers. He gave them both specific orders not to actually _engage_ the person they were looking for. He might not have been known for actually picking fights needlessly, but Vashyr didn't want to take any chances with someone this dangerous.

Summoning up the file he'd gotten from Sirzechs, Vashyr gave it another quick reading to make sure he got all the important information.

Walter C. Dornez. An infamous, and infamously _young_ , former exorcist of the church. Certainly if the picture of the young teen was any indication. Once the son of a rather prominent religious family, he lived through the ordeal of seeing it all literally burned away at a young age when a particularly malicious Fey decided to play a nasty prank. Adopted by an old friend of his father, a rather skilled and unconventional Exorcist, he decided to undergo training as an Exorcist himself. A natural prodigy, he set a record that was only surpassed by Dulio Gesualdo and was expected to be an exemplary agent of the Church.

So you could imagine everyone's surprise when he so abruptly left after his training, stating he would do the work of God his own way, not the way of an institution. The Church reacted rather badly, sending team after team to chase down and recapture the new Stray Exorcist. Unfortunately, Walter proved himself too much for them, sending every team back alive but thoroughly beaten. After the same result occurred with four teams in a row, the Church decided to give up on pursuit. The only one who could potentially get him back had been killed on a mission before he'd left, and sending anyone else strong enough simply would've been overkill.

That had been three years ago, and when the Church gave up the Devils saw an opportunity. Seven different High-Class Devils had tried to recruit him over the years, whether through offers or threats. All had failed. From the scattered bits of info that were gained from the now master free Peerages, Walter only seemed to act in self-defense, attacking only after the Devils became hostile and attempted to kill and reincarnate him. But beyond those moments of self-defense, Walter didn't seem especially hostile towards Devils in general.

That was one of the reasons Vashyr had decided to recruit him. He wasn't going to force anyone into his Peerage, so if he couldn't convince Walter than the teen would probably just let him leave. Hopefully, anyway.

Unfortunately, Walter was proving himself quite elusive. Sirzechs' information said he was last spotted somewhere here in Ireland, but it was much less accurate about his exact location. Hence, the search party he had brought along to help track him down.

oOoOoOoOo Rita Lupo oOoOoOoOo

Having briefly dismissed her Familiar, Rita was currently walking through the town of Clifden, the town often referred to as the _Capital_ of Connemara. She'd been searching for several hours, trying to follow the scent she'd gotten on Walter from that old piece of cloth. Unfortunately, the cloth in question was pretty old and the scent was weak. That meant it tended to mingle with the other, stronger scents and make tracking it almost impossible.

Instead of her usual maid attire, she was currently wearing a pair of simple blue jeans and a white shirt under a brown vest. Not much point in looking too fancy, she'd just draw attention.

As far as she could tell, the scent itself led here to Clifden, but it was gonna take forever to find him in a place like this. There were so many smells clashing and mingling together, she'd need him to literally walk right up to her to recognize his full scent.

She sighed. "Well, it's not like I expected to come here for a vacation."

Vashyr asked her to come along and help find this guy and she wasn't gonna complain. She was gonna find this guy somehow even if she had to sniff until her nose fell off. Vashyr might scold her for taking it so far, but Vashyr was worth the effort in Rita's opinion. He'd done too much for her and her sister to just do something by half when he needed it done in full.

Her train of thought was broken by the _delicious_ smell of some pork stew coming from a small restaurant on the side of the street. She couldn't help the watering sensation in her mouth, she'd been looking for quite a while and she was hungry. Hearing her stomach grumble, Rita decided to put her search on hold for a moment and grab a bite to eat. Rita wasn't too worried, she was pretty sure Vashyr would understand, he'd given her and Kuroka plenty of Euros for some quick stops like this.

"No point looking for someone on an empty stomach."

Walking into the restaurant and taking a seat, Rita picked up a menu and started looking for something good. Looked like her nose was right, there was a _lot_ of different pork dishes on the menu, each somehow looking better than the last.

Her search for something to eat was interrupted as someone put down a pint of whiskey that she didn't remember ordering. Looking up at the server to ask what was going on, she was forestalled as the man held up a hand. "It's a gift from the fellow over at the bar. He's sitting on the right end, by the door."

As the man walked away, she decided to take a sip of the whiskey and found herself rather enjoying it. Enough to probably give her a light buzz, but not so much to leave her really smashed.

Turning to the indicated person to give a wave and a quick thank you, she suddenly froze in her seat as she caught sight of him.

He was a teenager of roughly 17 years old in age, standing at around 5'7 in height. His hair was black and kept short, allowed to fall down his face slightly, though it was kept parted in front of his eyes. He was dressed in grey slacks and black boots, with a white dress shirt and dark blue vest under a light purple tie. His eyes silver and predatory even as he gave her a friendly smile and wave.

Walter C. Dornez. She'd found him.

"Why do you look so shocked?"

It took all of her self-control to keep from launching out of her seat and making a scene. Slowly turning to face the source of the voice, she saw Walter was now standing right to her side. How the hell did _that_ happen, did he come over here the moment she _blinked_?

"No," he preemptively answered. "Fast as I am, I still can't teleport. But I _can_ make some convincing illusions. Why do you think I was able to make an order for alcohol despite my age?"

' _Illusions? Oh, crap._ ' That could make this a _lot_ harder. Not the illusions themselves, but the indication that he might know other forms of magic. Looks like the file hadn't been kidding when it said this guy was a prodigy.

"I'm not going to kill you," he assured her, spreading his arms out in a gesture of non-aggression. "I just want you to send a little message to your master, along with a way to find me." Reaching into his pocket, the Stray Exorcist produced a single coin, putting it down in front of her on the table. "That's the sister coin of another one I have. Tell him to channel some magic into it and he'll be able to find me. Oh, and tell him to come alone. It won't end well for anyone if I'm ambushed."

With his message given, Walter turned away and headed out the door into Clifden, leaving Rita behind with the coin and a slight chill down her spine.

With her appetite suddenly gone, she finished off the drink (she really needed a little buzz after all that), picked up the coin and headed out.

' _Well, at least I found him. That counts for something, right?_ '

Stepping into a relatively empty alley, she pulled out her cellphone and called Vashyr. Vashyr had insisted on each member of his Peerage getting one, even offering to pay for the bills along with the actual phones. It was really starting to pay off, now.

Hearing it ring a few times, she let out an audible sigh of relief as she heard his "Hello" over the phone.

"Vashyr, I found him."

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

The moment Rita finished talking, he recalled Tempest and headed quickly to Clifden, calling Kuroka to meet up with him and Rita in town. It didn't take him too long to reach the place, barely fifteen minutes with his speed bolstered by magic, and he quickly found Rita outside the eastern entrance of town, the place they'd agreed to meet.

Rushing up to her, he quickly looked Rita over for any signs of a fight. He trusted her to avoid combat like he'd asked, but he still wasn't sure how Walter would've reacted to her presence. "Rita, are you sure you're alright?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just like I said over the cell."

Okay, the touch of sarcasm was a good sign. It meant she felt safe enough to engage in a little humor, that implied Walter really hadn't done anything to frighten her too much. It also made it clear that he really _hadn't_ hurt her.

Probably for the best, otherwise he'd be more interested in testing the little prick's lightning resistance. _Nobody_ hurt his Peerage!

"Vashyr," Rita said, getting his attention. "You can calm down. He scared me a little but he didn't hurt me."

Jeez, was he really that easy to read?

Reaching one of her hands out to bring up his own, she used the other to fish out the coin she'd mentioned and place it in his hand. "That's the coin I told you about. He said to channel some magic into it and it'll lead you to him."

She sighed after pulling her hands back. "Just…be careful, okay? He didn't really show me much, but he's definitely gonna be dangerous. If you aren't careful, he might…"

' _Her shoulders are shaking. Looks like this guy really got to her._ '

Placing his hands on her shoulders, he did his best to convey a feeling of strength to help her calm down. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

She looked up at him for a moment, looking him in the eye before flashing him a smile. "You better."

Seeing her calm down a little, he removed his hands and activated the coin. Feeling it give him a _tugging_ sensation further inland, he followed it after the source.

Time for some recruitment.

oOoOoOoOo Kuroka oOoOoOoOo

' _Awwwww. How sweet._ '

Responding to Rita's call, Kuroka had arrived just in time to see the heartwarming moment between the two. As much as he avoided anything overt, there were plenty of signs to show that Vashyr genuinely cared about his Peerage. Rita was no exception to that. In fact, Kuroka was willing to bet that there could be the little seed of something _more_ growing in there.

It was still a little early to say for sure, but Kuroka had always loved the ideas of romances coming from stuff like this. Of love beginning from the smallest thing, the tiniest gestures before they truly bloomed.

It certainly sounded much more romantic than that crappy _I saved you, let's fuck and fall in love_ kind of stuff you saw in crappy pornos.

….What? She wasn't ashamed of being a little curious of that sort of thing. So she happened to stumble onto a few _risqué_ channels for the TV in her own room, she had every right to be curious.

Besides, Vashyr wasn't exactly a bad piece of eye candy. Maybe if she got a little adventurous and he didn't turn her away (Seriously, who would?) than they could have a little fun together.

Hell, if Rita and Vashyr were both willing, she might even bring the _both_ of them into it. Now _that_ would be fun!

But that sort of thing was for later. Right now, as Vashyr's Queen, she had a job to do.

Leaving her hiding place and walking over to Rita, she wondered if there were any good places to eat around here. Keeping other members of his Peerage in top shape was one of her responsibilities, after all. And if she got something to eat for herself, well, that was just a fortunate, and very intentional, bonus. Not greedy at all.

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

It took Vashyr even less time to reach Walter than it took to reach Clifden. Then again, it was a little hard to believe it would take too long with his speed.

The coin had led him further inland to a large plain of rolling hills, colored in various shades of green from the endless grass and various bushes.

Walter, unsurprisingly, was currently leaning back against one of the few trees. The very picture of calm confidence, he noticed his approach with a casual smile. As if they weren't potentially gonna get into a fight.

"You must be Vashyr," he greeted, giving him a slight bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Walter C. Dornez, current Stray Exorcist and hunter of all things that go bump in the night."

Vashyr brought up a hand to lightly grasp his chin, giving the impression of a potential employer looking over an applicant. "That's an impressive claim, given some of the beasties you're talking about. I assume you have a resume?"

Walter rose from the bow and flashed him a grin. "Indeed I do," he answered, conjuring up a sheet of papers and gesturing it to him. "It's all in here. Dullahan's, Banshee's, Werewolves, Vampires, Ghouls, Succubae, Incubi, even a few Stray Devils. It's all legitimate, I assure you."

Not willing to get too close, Vashyr just shrugged in defeat at the impressive foresight. "I'll take your word for it. Regardless, you know why I'm here."

Allowing his little resume to disappear, Walter looked him in the eye. "Of course. You want me to join your Peerage."

Vashyr nodded in admittance. There was really no point in dancing around it. "Yes. I'm willing to make some offers, if you'd like. You'll find I can be quite generous with recruitment."

"I'm sure," Walter responded. "But I'm afraid the answer is still no. I'm not really interested in becoming a Devil."

"Because of your religious faith?" Vashyr asked, surprised as he got what sounded like a snort in return.

"Faith? No, not something as grand or self-righteous as that." Seeing the young man's eyes go lightly unfocused, Vashyr didn't bother asking further. Something told him he'd find out in a moment.

Turns out he was right. "What do you think about when you hear people talking about _God's Plan_?"

' _God's Plan?_ ' Interesting question. Also a dangerous one, considering what he knew. "You're really asking a Devil about something like that?"

Walter chuckled. "Touché, but my question still stands." The young man faced him fully, eyes meeting eyes. "My teacher was a bit of an odd one, you see. He had more faith than anyone I've ever met, but it wasn't for the Church. It wasn't for the rules or institutions run by mortals, it was a faith in God and whatever great Plan he kept in motion."

He swept out his arms, gesturing to the world around him as if using it as a reference, an explanation. "Just look at the world around us. The life, the light, the sound and music, how could all of _this_ just be a grand coincidence. It can't be, it has to be a part of something more. Not just Humans and Angels, but even the Devils and other creatures of the world. That's what my teacher believed; that God has a Plan and _everything_ has a place in it. A role to play." His arms closed back in. "It's a little romantic, I know. Maybe a little crazy, but that's why I left the Church. I'm trying to find _my_ place in that Plan, my own role. And I just can't see myself doing it as anything more or less than a Human. No offense."

"None taken," he responded. He meant it too. Walter had been nothing but polite and forthright during this little conversation so he could at least return it.

He had to admit, if he wasn't aware of God being dead than Walter's philosophy wasn't really an unpleasant one. The thought that everything could have a role to play, it was a little comforting, if a tinge fatalistic.

Unfortunately, he knew better. God was dead, even if there was no point in telling everyone.

It was obvious Walter had no intention of joining him. Still, might as well ask one more time, just to be sure. "That's your answer, then. You won't join."

Walter shook his head, even as he slipped a hand behind his back and changed his position. "I'm afraid so."

"Alright then," Vashyr answered, turning back and getting ready to head to Clifden. Might as well tell them how it went. A little disappointing, but no use forcing the issue.

oOoOoOoOo Walter C. Dornez oOoOoOoOo

' _What's he doing?_ '

Really, that was all Walter could think at the sight before him. Of the Devil simply turning around and walking away from him. Just like that? No fight? No attempts to kill him and recruit him by force?

"Hold on a moment," he called out, getting the Devil to stop and turn back. "You're really just going to walk away? After coming out here to recruit me and me saying no?"

The Devil, Vashyr, seemed a little annoyed at the reminder. "That's right. There's not much point, so I'm heading back."

"You're….not going to try and kill me and recruit me after dying? Why? The others had no problems with trying it."

He must've touched a nerve, because Vashyr's face turned a little sour at the questioning. "I'm not forcing _anyone_ into my Peerage. There's enough of that in the Underworld already."

This was…odd. No, forget odd, this was completely unexpected. Every other Devil had no problem with trying to recruit him by force, some of them even used it as their first option. This was straight up _abnormal_!

"You're…..really not a normal Devil, are you."

He flinched back slightly as Vashyr's head flew back and he started laughing. Was he really doing this _now_? Laughing _here_?

"No," he answered, the laughter finally dying down. "No, I'm really not. If only you knew."

' _If only I knew, eh?_ '

"What if I _did_ want to know," Walter questioned.

The Devil blinked at him. "What was that?"

"I'm a little curious. If I wanted to know, if I asked, would you tell me?"

Vashyr shook his head for no. "Nope. Sorry, but that's on a need to know basis. Nobody outside my Peerage."

' _Is that so?_ '

Walter couldn't help it, he felt the smile just creeping up on his face. "The how about a little bet?"

 _That_ got his attention. "A bet? For what?"

Walter's smile grew even more. "We fight. If I win, you'll answer my questions. If _you_ win," he paused, waiting for the drama to sink in. Yes, he _did_ in fact have a good sense of drama. "I'll join your Peerage."

Surprisingly, the Devil didn't accept immediately. He actually spent a moment thinking it over, perking Walter's interest even more. "And you're sure you won't regret it if you lose?"

Walter shrugged. "If I lose, then maybe that's just a part of the Plan, too. Who can say? So, you're answer."

The Devil didn't even answer in words, not immediately. He just slowly turned around, looked him in the eye, and flew into the air and he summoned a dozen lances of lightning, throwing them down with a shout of, "Challenge accepted!"

 **xXx**

Whew, this one was a doozy for me to write. Anyway, onto the specifics of this chapter.

Yes, it's _THAT_ Walter C. Dornez and I'm gonna do my best to make the fight awesome. Trust me when I say that Vashyr is gonna have one seriously _**BADASS**_ Peerage.

As for Sirzechs, I wanted to portray him a little differently than just some Technical Pacifist Reasonable Authority Figure. Sirzechs rose to power in the bloodiest conflict in Underworld history, he's a ruthless combatant who's perfectly capable of becoming ruthless and brutal when necessary and has all the power and intelligence to make that ruthlessness even more terrifying. He isn't a bad guy, but he has no compunctions with doing some nasty stuff for the greater good or protecting the people he cares about. That's the kind of person I was trying to portray.

I also wanted to explore the leadership of the Four Satans. They're the most _powerful_ people in the Underworld, but being the best at kicking ass doesn't necessarily mean they're the best at politics. It's actually said by Zekram Bael in canon that they're figureheads, and I wanted to explore that and its implications a little, which gaze Sirzechs personal _and_ practical reasons for meeting with Vashyr.

Lastly, Kuroka and Rita. I'm trying to portray their different personalities and how they think of Vashyr with their own POV segments. I'm really hoping I'm portraying Kuroka well, she struck me in canon as a character that was well aware of her own sexual appeal and sexuality and I'm trying to portray that without making her come off the wrong way. As for her thought on the growing relationship between Rita and Vashyr, she's right, but it won't really bloom for a while.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Review and have a nice day!


	9. The Power Of A Storm

Chapter 9

 **The Power Of A Storm**

xXx

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

He didn't even bother starting off easy. Fact was, Walter happened to be a _very_ dangerous Stray Exorcist and all the genuine affability did nothing to subtract from that. Starting off slow or going easy on him wouldn't just be stupid, it would be next to suicidal, and Vashyr _very_ much wanted to keep his head attached, thank you very much. The chance that Walter probably wasn't planning on actually _killing_ him was just shoved aside, he was more interested on winning.

So, instead of the typical Shounen crap where the MC starts off weak and slowly brings out more firepower in the fight, Vashyr flew straight up into the air, summoned a dozen lances of lightning and let loose!

The Lances fired off one at a time with the speed of bullets, generating enough light and explosive force to be akin to a compressed lightning bolt in its own right. Which, in retrospect, they kind of _were_.

He was mildly impressed by his progress. The lances were much more powerful now than when they had started out, each of them having enough explosive force and power to reduce a good sized house of bricks and concrete into a smoldering crater.

Which made it all the more impressive that Walter was still able to doge them and avoid the explosions. Seriously, Vashyr was starting to wonder if Walter was really an ordinary human, he'd never seen _any_ human move that fast in the original series. Hell, the only Devil he'd met so far that could move with that kind of speed was Sairaorg during their spars, though he was pretty sure the other Devil was holding back.

His train of thought was halted as Walter's arms moved and he saw a strange glimmer in the light in front of him. A glimmer that was quickly getting closer!

His instincts taking over, Vashyr immediately dodged to the side as the glimmer got closer. Almost _feeling_ it slice through the air as it passed his face, he immediately flew away and turned his eyes back to Walter only to see the Exorcist moving his arms again.

Deciding to keep moving, Vashyr soared through the air in a constantly shifting pattern as he dodged the strange attacks. Managing to keep himself from getting _literally_ clipped wings, he pulled his fingers up and braced for a quick snap as he saw Walter get ready for another attack. ' _Say goodbye to your eardrums!_ '

oOoOoOoOo Walter C. Dornez oOoOoOoOo

He literally didn't know what hit him. All he saw was Vashyr snapping his fingers and then he could've sworn a flashbang went off in front of his face. It was, he thought, a _supremely_ unpleasant experience.

But even with his ears ringing, his head swimming, Walter managed to right himself surprisingly quickly. Blinking the spots from his eyes, he looked up to see that Vashyr had already created more lances of lightning. ' _That's not a good sign._ '

Using that little trick again, Walter anchored his monofilament wires to another part of the ground and used it to zip himself away as a lance came down on him.

In all honesty, Walter was actually a little impressed. The other Devils had been arrogant, cocky and assuming him an easy victory. You think they would've learned something from his previous victories against others of their kind, but it seemed the possibility of underestimating him never occurred to them. They also might've just been overestimating themselves, but it was mostly the same result anyway.

 _This_ one, though? This Devil came swinging right out of the gate, throwing down hard the moment the fight started. Looks like he'd actually learned something from what he'd learned about the Exorcist's abilities.

Wasn't going to help him win, though. Yes, this Vashyr fellow definitely had some very impressive firepower and he was smart enough not to underestimate him, but Walter still had other tricks.

Maybe it was time to bring them out.

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

' _This can't be all he can do._ '

Really, it couldn't be. Vashyr took the time to read up on the Devils that came here after Walter, they may have lacked the same raw firepower but they also bought their whole Peerage into the fight along with them. Fighting one enemy and fighting at least over half a dozen were two completely different things, requiring completely different approaches to win. But in spite of their numbers, Walter had managed to beat them all.

So what was Vashyr missing? He couldn't have been the only Devil to try this kind of tactic, staying in the air and attacking from range. Walter must've fought harder fights than this, so what could he be holding back?

He got an answer as his next lance of lightning shot down. As he prepared to fire, he noticed that Walter didn't even try to dodge this time, just standing in place. It's like he was _daring_ him to fire.

Seeing no reason not to oblige, Vashyr let a lance loose and saw Walter's location be consumed in an explosion of superheated plasma and light. Easily powerful enough to disintegrate a good sized tank.

Which made it all the more surprising when the smoke cleared. He'd expected Walter had some kind of protection and he was right. But apparently he'd underestimated just how potent it really was, because he was currently standing in the same position as untouched as before. He stood in place on a small patch of untouched land in a searing crater, utterly unharmed.

He was also surrounded by what seemed to be glowing wires of light, crisscrossing and layered over each other as a circular shield around him. But the glow was more than just a visual gimmick, it told him _exactly_ why Walter was so dangerous against Devils, why he'd destroyed every other Devil who had tried to recruit him. Those wires were imbued with _Holy_ power!

' _So THAT'S_ how he did it."

This would make things much more difficult. His lances may have been made from condensed lightning, even _real_ lightning, but they were still constructs of magic. Magic derived from his own reserves of power as a Devil. Holy Power was a natural counter to it, so it looks like he'd need to get creative.

As Walter moved his hand and some of the wires lashed out at him in the air, it also gave Vashyr even more reason to keep his distance. Dodging around and avoiding the wires chasing him in the air, he knew getting so much as a glancing touch from these things would be deadly. No way could he safely get close.

Good thing he had a backup plan in mind. Looks like Tempest was gonna play a part after all.

oOoOoOoOo Tempest oOoOoOoOo

His wings flapping as he soared higher into the air, Tempest stared down at the world below. Looked down upon the battle his master waged against the human he sought to recruit.

Flying was something Tempest had always enjoyed. The freedom, the ability to go wherever one chose to go. A freedom his master seemed all too willing to allow him, if his frequent releases from slumber were any indication.

But Tempest wasn't flying for enjoyment right now.

His master wished to fight, had sent Tempest out as part of a plan to _help_ him fight, and Tempest would obey.

Flying through the clouds far above, Tempest beat his mighty wings and stirred the power dormant within. Stoking it, strengthening it even as he pulled it to the fore.

A cry released from his beak, summoning up a crackle of lightning within the cloud as it slowly darkened. His wings beat in the air and pulled more clouds together, slowly forming them into a singular mass.

His master desired a storm, and Tempest would obey.

oOoOoOoOo Walter C. Dornez oOoOoOoOo

' _Looks like he has quite some variety._ '

When those lances of lightning proved ineffective, Vashyr started pulling some very impressive moves out of his bag of tricks. Summoning up great gales to direct his wires off course of tear up the ground around him with invisible gashes. Conjuring up great streams of water and flooding it over him, only to freeze it in place as a gigantic pillar of ice. He even released a rather impressive tempo of that strange flashbang trick that had left Walter's ears ringing before.

Unfortunately, none of his attacks were quite enough to get past his barrier of Holy wires. Oh, some of them came pretty close. That lance of lightning had gotten closer to breaking through that any attack he'd ever seen before. Seeing the wires push in on him so close that they almost touched his nose was a rather harrowing experience. His barrier had taken assaults from several Devils at a time, including Queens, Bishops, and several promoted Pawns, but Vashyr was pushing it harder than Walter could remember _all_ of them doing before. It was actually a little terrifying.

But it still wouldn't be enough. Vashyr was at a disadvantage for as long as this barrier was up, his attacks still not enough to get through. Walter, meanwhile, could still attack _him_.

Taking a few wires from the barrier, Walter sent them lashing out at Vashyr once again. All he needed was _one_ hit and he would win, it didn't even need to be a lethal or serious one.

Seeing the Devil keep flying in the air, he made the wires follow the movements. Usually, use of wires like these would take _years_ to master, but Walter had shown a dexterity and control for their use even at a young age. Their lethality was even further enhanced by his ability to channel his light element inside of them, turning them into Holy weapons. There was a reason his moniker during training had been the Angel of Death, and this Devil was seeing why right now.

So why were Walter's instincts still telling him that something was wrong? By all means, he was holding the advantage right now, so why was he still so worried?

His answer came not from Vashyr as he darted around in the air, but from the sky above as he heard the crack of thunder. Looking up, his eyes widened at the sight of the growing storm clouds, clouds that _definitely_ weren't there before. "What the hell?"

That was all he could say before things got _really_ bad.

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

' _Yes! Perfect timing Tempest, now it's time to turn things around._ '

It was a bit of a gamble sending Tempest up into the sky while Walter was on the offensive, he wasn't entirely sure it would've even been necessary at the time, but he was _very_ happy he chose to do it. The biggest problem at the time was the possibility of Walter intercepting Tempest with his wires as he flew up into the sky, which gave him another reason to use a thunderclap and stun him for a moment.

And just like he'd told him to do, Tempest immediately began conjuring up a great storm overhead. Gales, rain, hail.

And of course the lightning.

Smiling down at the Exorcist on the ground, Vashyr raised a hand and brought down a storm of hail, enhancing their mass with his magic until each one was a block of ice the size of a small car. Accompanying the hail storm was great sweeping gales, whistling like a dirge from someone's nightmares and powerful enough to push over trees.

This was a little something he'd found out while reading Vashyron's notes. His powers weren't just confined to being able to manipulate the different elements of storms, he could even use _actual_ storms by influencing and controlling them with his power. He hadn't really been able to practice with it, he hadn't exactly gotten to the level of conjuring up storms on a whim.

But Tempest was a Thunderbird. A mythical creature that could summon up storms merely with their passing, and he proving it right now by bringing this one out. He honestly couldn't have gotten better Familiar.

Bringing the gales and hail down upon Walter's barrier, he watched as the wires were slowly pushed in by the assault. Great chunks of hail falling upon him, their impact intensified as they were pushed along by the wind, Walter's barrier practically seemed to be collapsing in on itself.

' _Now for the finisher._ '

Raising a hand up to the sky, causing all the energy of the storm to focus on a single point, he brought his hand down with the finality of a judge's gavel.

And the whole area for miles was lit by a single bolt of pure lightning, holding a quarter of all the electricity of the storm behind it.

oOoOoOoOo Walter C. Dornez oOoOoOoOo

He couldn't even stand up. He could barely so much as _breathe_ after it happened. After that bolt of fucking _lightning_ came down on top of him and shattered his barrier of wires like it was a shield of glass.

' _How am I even still alive?_ '

Seriously, how? Nothing could simply _survive_ being hit by a damned bolt of lightning, the damned things had more heat in them than the surface of the sun. He should've been reduced to plasma just from the thing getting close.

Was it because it was still a spell used by his opponent? It had to be, that was the only thing that made sense. Walter was confident in his barrier's ability to weather any assault from demonic forces, it must've neutralized _just_ enough of the lightning bolt's power so it didn't outright kill him.

Of course, there was also the possibility that the Devil had held back on the attack on purpose. He had come here to recruit him after all, it wouldn't have made sense to simply kill him.

Getting some sensation back into his arms, he avoided making any overt movements. He could hear and feel the storm dying down, dissipating as his opponent, understandably, assumed a victory. He couldn't let him know he was still conscious, not yet.

He only had one chance. Force didn't work, so that left cunning, and Walter had one last idea.

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

Vashyr landed back on the ground, dismissing his wings as he stepped forward towards Walter's prone form. Hearing a loud cry overhead, he stuck out an arm for Tempest to land on and felt his familiar weight rest upon it.

He brought up a hand to stroke the Familiar on the feathers of his neck. "You did perfectly," he praised. The Thunderbird preened under the attention, though he wasn't sure if it was caused by the praise or by his fingers gently petting its feathers. Ah well, Tempest deserved a little spoiling for his help. This fight would've probably drawn on for quite a while without the storm his Familiar had conjured up for him, he might have even lost.

Mentally allowing Tempest to return to slumber, he watched as the Thunderbird vanished in a crackle of electricity on his arm and disappeared.

Refocusing his attention on Walter, he gave the young man a moment to regain his bearings. He'd already won, there was no way he could keep fighting after that. But that didn't mean he was getting any closer. "So, looks like I win. Are you ready to join my Peerage, or should I have you healed up first?"

Walter stirred slightly at that. He was probably still pretty messed up from that lightning bolt, unsurprisingly. Honestly, Vashyr was a little surprised he wasn't hurt _worse_ from it. He may have held back roughly ¾ of the power of the full storm, but it was still a lightning bolt. That was one hell of a barrier to have kept this guy alive.

As Walter shifted around, probably trying to get into a sitting position, Vashyr kept an attentive eye on him. He might be tired, he might be hurt, but Walter might still try something against him. He didn't strike him as a sore loser, but he couldn't be too sure.

Keeping his right hand on the ground to keep steady, Walter sat up and finally found hid balance as he stopped swaying. He seemed calm, a little _too_ calm.

The Walter looked up at him and Vashyr was on guard. Those weren't the eyes of somebody who'd given up. They were the eyes of someone setting a trap!

The Exorcist immediately yanked his hand up from the ground, the wires held within being pulled along and bringing more as they rose from the ground immediately around Vashyr himself!

He didn't even have time to move before they closed around him, trapping him in place, burning him with their…

' _Wait. These wires should be holding Holy power, so where's the burning?_ '

oOoOoOoOo Walter C. Dornez oOoOoOoOo

' _I won!_ '

That was the one thought that passed-no, _rushed_ through his mind as his Holy wires wrapped around Vashyr. He'd won! He caught Vashyr in his trap, in his last desperate trick and beat him. It was over!

Then the moment passed and Vashyr seemed to physically _light up_ right before his eyes! As if his whole body itself became a lightning bolt and melted clean through the wires holding him in place! The concentrated heat of a single full lightning bolt was enough to completely beak through his barrier, a total of less than a dozen meant nothing!

' _What the hell!?_ '

That was all he was able to think before Vashyr ran up to him and wrapped one of his hands around his throat. Walter almost tried to break out before he felt Vashyr's grip tighten in warning, before he saw the look in his eyes and decided there was no point.

He'd lost. His last trick hadn't worked. He was beaten.

"You win."

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

It was five minutes after the fight and Vashyr had just finished healing the better part of Walter's injuries. They hadn't really talked during the process, just letting the silence hang. The fact was that Vashyr won and Walter would be joining his Peerage, there wasn't any point in rubbing it in.

Treating the last injury with some healing magic, Vashyr rose to his full height and extended a hand to help Walter up. He might've won, but there was no point in being an ass to his future Peerage member.

Taking a second to stare quizzically at the offered hand, Walter reached out and pulled himself up, coming up to roughly Vashyr's throat. "How did you do that?"

Vashyr quirked an eyebrow. "Do what?"

Walter's slight glare made it obvious that wasn't the answer he wanted. "You know perfectly well _what_. How did you escape the wires after I trapped you in them?"

' _Oh, that._ ' Actually he had a pretty good idea. In fact, thinking about it, he was a little surprised it hadn't occurred to him before. Everything he knew about the original series told him he should've been writhing on the ground in pain after those Holy infused wires had trapped him, likely getting significant burns through the contact. After all, Holy power was anathema to Devils.

But he wasn't exactly a Devil, not entirely. He still had the soul of a human inside this new body, and humans didn't possess an inherent weakness against Holy power. It was something he already knew, but it still slipped by him sometimes. Particularly some of the details he didn't quite notice.

Like all the times he was able cuss out god in his thoughts without suddenly getting headaches. There were even signs during this fight, when those wires got close to him while he flew in the air. Holy power didn't only prove dangerous on physical contact, it could hurt just being _close_ to it, but the wires practically got within touching distance of his nose and he didn't feel a damned thing. It was a little funny just what you could miss in a fight.

The thought that he was immune to it was both extremely useful and extremely worrying. On one hand, it made it much easier for him to fight against enemies with Holy weaponry, like Fallen Angels and Stray Exorcists. On the other hand, this was the kind of ability that would get the attention of other Devils, with some of them probably even being willing to dissect him to figure it out. In fact, he was _sure_ there were more than a few Devils willing to do that. Dissect one Devil to find out a way to become resistant or immune to Holy Aura's? That was a steal!

And now Walter was looking for an answer. Dammit, why was it that _every_ conversation he's been having was essentially a minefield? It wasn't fair.

Still, Walter was too suspicious for him to simply brush this topic aside. He needed to give him an answer, a convincing one.

' _Well, here it goes._ '

"What do you know about reincarnation?"

oOoOoOoOo

Once Vashyr finished his explanation, he just stood awkwardly as Walter looked at him with an expression he couldn't quite place. It was a little too calm to be shocked, but it also managed to convey that it was too shocked to be calm. An odd combination, to be sure. At least this time the person getting the explanation hadn't broken out in laughter.

Then Walter started chuckling and Vashyr let out a light sigh. Looks like he came to a conclusion too soon.

But, surprisingly enough, Walter didn't break out into wild laughter like some kind of deranged hyena. He just kept on chuckling, as if he'd stumbled onto the punchline of some joke he was only getting here and now.

Then he actually started talking, albeit with some difficulty. "So…so you're essentially some kind of _Holy Devil_?"

 _That_ was when he broke out into laughter. A holy devil, huh? Well, he wouldn't really go that far, but why bring the guy down from such a good bout of humor.

"Oh, this is just _too_ much! Hahahaha! All that time I spent wandering and wondering what kind of role I was meant to play and it just walks right up in front of me!"

' _Wait. What?_ '

Walter was apparently oblivious to Vashyr's incredulity, because he didn't stop his musing. "A Holy _Devil_ , of all things. Oh, this _has_ to be what God himself has in mind, it couldn't _possibly_ be some kind of coincidence."

Turning to face him, Walter stepped back and took a deep bow to him. "Seems you'll be my Master from now on, Lord Vashyr. How shall you decide to recruit me into your Peerage?"

' _Oh come on,_ ' Vashyr thought, looking down on Walter in incredulity. ' _Seriously, could things get ANY weirder?_ '

oOoOoOoOo Furtur Manor oOoOoOoOo

Vashyr was currently in his study with Sirzechs. It had been three days since his fight with Walter and his resulting recruitment into his Peerage. They'd both decided on making him a Knight, his style of combat relied on his mobility rather than physical strength and the Knight Piece simply fit that role better than any other.

Surprisingly, the former Exorcist adapted quickly to finding himself now in the Underworld and easily got along with the other inhabitants of the Manor. He'd honestly expected them all to need a little more time to adjust, but it seems Walter's manners and easy affability smoothed things over rather quickly.

Barely a day after arriving back, Sirzechs had sent him a message saying he'd be coming by for a quick debriefing on his successful recruitment. Scheduled two days later, the met in Vashyr's study and sat in the same chairs as before.

Except this time the Lucifer was laughing his ass right off.

"It's not _that_ funny!"

"It's hilarious!" Sirzechs insisted, barely able to get it out in between his laughter. "A Holy Devil! _A Holy Devil!_ Can't you _taste_ the ridiculousness in it?"

' _No. I'm a little too busy tasting my Thai Iced Tea._ '

Seriously, the stuff was practically a coping device for all his stress. A little strange, considering all the sugar in it should be making him more hyper.

Eventually, Sirzechs managed to calm down from all his laughter and get back a straight face. With the humor out of the way, he got a look suitable for business once again. "So, are you thinking of telling anyone else about your….situation?"

Ah, yes. The reincarnation thing.

He'd thought over any possible ways to hid it from Sirzechs, some method to keep him from finding out while still giving a good run down on why Walter had no problem with serving him as his new Knight. He'd actually came up with a few somewhat convincing, but only somewhat. The sad fact was that there wasn't any real way to avoid it, Sirzechs was smart enough to find out _something_ on his own in only a matter of time.

The best option he had was to reveal just enough information to clear things up early, hiding it would just make it worse if he kept the secret for longer. It was a better option than trying to keep it hidden for longer and potentially sour this little alliance in the making. So he gave a similar story to what he'd told Rita, just enough to explain without telling him everything. Even if Sirzechs suspected him to be hiding something, he wouldn't push it unless he had ample reason.

"Honestly? No, it would be best for me to let as few people know as possible beyond the strictly necessary. You now the thing about secrets; the less people who know, the better."

The Satans response was an approving nod. "Fair enough. Regardless, you're in a rather….lucky position, if you play your cards right. Being physically resistant to Holy power is a substantial advantage to you, given some of the enemies you're bound to face. Do you have any immediate plans?"

He shrugged. "Mostly I'll be focusing on training my Peerage and my own abilities. I might look through those other files you've given me, but I have to prioritize or I might just end up overextending."

Sirzechs nodded again. "Good to see you're not rushing. No point in pushing your luck too far and ending up with a disadvantage."

After the brief conversation and a suggestion to stay in communication, Sirzechs got up to leave and head back to Lilith, the Capital of the Satan aligned territories. Apparently, his wife was pushing quite a bit of missed paperwork on him and he couldn't put it off anymore. Vashyr got the impression that his eagerness to visit was because he found it to be another break.

Alone in his study, Vashyr planned for the future. He'd made a good start, but he still had a long way to go.

He was honestly a little anxious.

 **xXx**

Here's the next chapter, folks. I hope you all liked the fight between Vashyr and Walter, it's the longest fight I've written out so far. I also hope you all enjoyed how Tempest played a role in the fight, it always bothered me how little the canon character actually used their own familiars for battle purposes. I can understand not using weaker familiars, but they could still use them for _something_ besides handing out fliers.

Now, onto a few concerns.

I've gotten a few requests for women to add to Vashyr's harem and I have to make this clear. That's not gonna happen, the harem is decided and it's staying that way. Four women in the harem is the most I'm confident in my ability to write with a good degree or actual romance and characterization.

I also wanted to come out and say that Walter won't be the only Crossover character I this fic, in fact there were a few before him. Rita and Yuria were based (physically at least) on Lupusregina and Yuri from Overlord, I wanted to explain it before but it kept slipping my mind. That said, I won't be spoiling the other characters that'll be appearing.

Lastly, I just wanted to say that I'll be focusing on maybe two or so updates for A Scorpion's Successor and then take a short break. I've been pumping chapters out for these fics almost once a day now, and I'll also need to work on some studying for my Electrician Training classes. The classes are only once day a week, so it shouldn't interfere too much with my writing too much, but I have to prioritize for a while and I wanted to let you all know so you wouldn't be too worried about the sudden and (hopefully) brief stop in writing.

Well, that's it for the AN folks. Review and have a nice day!


	10. Fights, Knights, And A Nightly Visit

Chapter 10

 **Fights, Knights, And A Nightly Visit**

xXx

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

Vashyr walked through the remains of what used to be a section of forest, the trees either knocked down, burnt, strangely overgrown and everything in between. The soil had been torn up and with great trenches crisscrossing all around, turning it into some kind of trench warfare example from a war documentary. Kinda suitable, considering the place was practically a warzone.

Hearing even more commotion, he headed to the source of the noise and felt a slight swell of pride as he recognized the source of all the damage.

His own Peerage.

He'd been encouraging them all to spar against each other as a means of pushing their abilities further and further. His ample supply of Phoenix Tears and the healing magic he and Kuroka could access allowed them to go practically all out. Needless to say, they were quite impressive when they really let loose.

Another tree was toppled as Rita let out a right hook against an ever agile Walter. Out of everyone in his Peerage, she easily possessed the most raw physical attack power, even as a Pawn. He was honestly a little scared of just how strong she could be if she promoted to a Rook and gained the standard boost to physical power.

Unfortunately, Walter was simply fast enough to outpace her. Rather easily, if Vashyr's observation was any indication. The young former Exorcist weaved around her every blow and attack like water, constantly staying just out of reach as he used his wires to grab various bits of debris and chuck them at her.

Broken parts of trees, chunks of rock from shattered boulders, he even threw an unusually large and solid section of dirt. If nothing else, he showed a definite willingness to improvise. It was a good quality, considering he was fighting against someone who could seriously injure him with even a glancing blow.

Seriously, Rita's punches were coming out so hard and forceful that he could even feel them displacing the air. Even from roughly thirty feet away! Come to think of it, screw promoting to a Rook. If Rita promoted to a Queen, she'd be a physical _nightmare_!

Walter's attacks didn't even seem to faze her as she kept pressing forward, plowing through everything he threw at her like an unstoppable force. She also wasn't limiting her attacks to just punches, letting out some kicks from her legs as she closed the distance. She even dragged her foot along the ground to release a quick and blinding layer of dirt into Walter's face to create an opening.

Walter just dodged to the side as the dirt came up, quickly ensnaring Rita's leg in his wires before he tossed her away and put some distance between them.

Needless to say, Rita shrugged off the throw and ran after him like nothing had happened at all.

It was a contest of force vs finesse, speed vs power. That was what this fight could be called.

Taking flight into the air, Vashyr went to check on the others. Rita and Walter were only the first two members he'd came out to check on.

He found his next duo barely 10 seconds after taking flight, Mitsume the Nine-Tails and Adriana the Dhampir.

While the two weren't exactly as physically inclined as the previous duo, they were still equally impressive.

Adriana had summoned up a whole swarm of shadowy creatures. Bats, wolves, snakes, birds and many other creatures born of pitch black darkness. They all moved like a great mass through the forest, searching out their prey.

It didn't seem to take too long. Mitsume appeared a short distance in front of the huge swarm of creatures, dozens of Mitsume's in fact. As the many creatures closed in on them, each Mitsume lit up in brilliant explosions of fire, lightning and sheer magical force. It was a trick Mitsume had developed by combining her Demon Arts with conventional elemental magic. Each one of her look-alikes was actually a very convincing illusory projection, packed with the energy of a particular element. It was actually pretty clever, allowing her to catch enemies off guard with some very lethal traps. Especially with just how _many_ she could make at once.

But Adriana sure wasn't about to be outdone. Instead of simply throwing numerous weak creatures, she decided to get a little more creative. Having them merge by the hundreds into much larger single creatures, abominable pitch black creatures standing may meters in height, showing amalgamations of the traits of the creatures that made them up.

The creatures marched forward, releasing terrible howling sounds as they crushed and swept aside the many projections of the Nine-Tails. The exploding projections simply didn't have the power necessary to injure the massive shadowy creatures, merely inflicting minor wounds.

That was when Vashyr saw something further away start to light up, a golden glow briefly appearing before Mitsume revealed her true form. A large, golden colored, Nine-Tailed Fox.

Then he watched as the air itself seemed to ripple around the shadowy giants, twisting and turning around them as their own crude senses went haywire and they started attacking one another. Clever trick.

Pleased with their progress, he went along for his last checking.

Kuroka wasn't difficult to find. Her own training mostly revolved around a combination of perfecting her Sage Arts, Demon Arts and rehearsing some simple martial arts. Beyond a few occasions for sparring, Kuroka largely trained alone out in the forest. So it was probably a little surprising that her training areas were just as easy to find.

After all, devastation was one thing but huge overgrowth of the trees and plants was another.

Sage Arts didn't really have the same degree of widespread destructive force of other fields of magic, but it could be just as noticeable in its effects. Most of the Nekoshou's training involved using her Sage Arts to shift the surrounding trees into a dominion under her own control, along with many other tricks that involved using the environment.

It might sound silly on paper, a power that involved manipulating plants. People might ask, "How can plants hurt me?" and start laughing. Well, he'd stop laughing when the tree roots rose out to impale him through the chest. When the trees started smacking him in the face to destroy his teeth. When every flower suddenly started releasing a poisonous mist that slowly destroyed you from the inside out. Not laughing now, right? And manipulation of plants was just the start of what Sage Arts was really capable of when used creatively, especially when she started combining it with her Demon Arts and any other fields of magic she decided to implement.

Needless to say, Kuroka was well on her way to becoming a _very_ intimidating Queen. Especially since she was covering her bases with martial arts training. It still wasn't her specialty, but the physical enhancements were simply too good for her to pass up on. Most Queens focused on either their physical abilities or their magical ones, rarely going the extra mile to expand their abilities in both. Enemies would be in for one _nasty_ surprise whenever Kuroka came out onto the field.

Still, he was mildly disappointed that Yuria hadn't participated. He considered asking her directly, but then he remembered how she generally reacted to his presence. Instead, he'd asked Rita to approach her and ask without mentioning him, but it looked like she either wasn't interested or knew he'd actually asked Rita to do so. Either way, she didn't come out.

Probably for the best. From what he could tell of her, Yuria was far too traumatized to take part in any Rating Games regardless of whatever fighting skills she might actually have. Bringing her into a fight would probably just make her even _worse_ than she was now.

Trying to dismiss the thought from his mind, he lowered himself down to the ground at the area Kuroka had been training. It was surprisingly dark under the trees that Kuroka had overgrown with her Sage Arts, no light peeking directly down from the countless thick leaves of the overlapping branches. It was a good thing his Devil eyesight was so adapted to seeing in darkness, otherwise he might have just been walking straight into the various trees.

"Kuroka!" he called out. He was pretty sure shouting wasn't necessary, Kuroka had long since made it clear that she was capable of sensing his presence, but sometimes he really needed to get loud to get her attention. There were some times when she really liked to make him work to get her attention.

When he didn't hear any response, it seemed she wanted to make him work for it this time. Letting out a resigned sigh, he entered further in. It honestly felt like he was walking into a trap.

' _Oh, who am I kidding? Of course it's some kinda trap._ '

The notion was in no way proven wrong as he walked further in, feeling like he was being watched. Literally, it felt like someone was physically _watching_ him as he kept walking, like some kind of unseen predator. ' _Then again, Kuroka HAS gotten a little more aggressive._ '

His thoughts cut off as he sensed movement from behind, felt the movements in the air as _someone_ tried to pounce on his back.

He responded immediately, turning around to intercept and catch his attacker by the wrists as he pushed the ambusher down. Pinning his stalker to the ground, he positioned himself over the waist of the person held beneath him. But he did nothing further, didn't attack in any way. Not much point, considering _who_ had just tried to pounce on him. For the third time this month.

"Kuroka," he sighed out, his face coming further down. " _Why_ do you keep doing that? I've already asked you to stop."

The beautiful Nekoshou just smiled up at him in mischief. "I guess it hasn't sunk in yet." Her own face rose slightly, going to the side of his face. He barely suppressed a shiver as the tip of her tongue darted out and lightly traced his ear. "Maybe you should _punish_ me. I'm being such a bad kitty, after all."

' _Oh, you'd just LOVE that, wouldn't you?_ '

Seriously, she'd been coming onto him _hard_ recently. It had been a little over two months since he'd recruited Walter into his Peerage, since the former Stray Exorcist had quickly made himself his own little niche in the group. Kuroka had started out rather subtle at first, just light glances or lingering touches. Then, when she realized Vashyr had such a high tolerance, she started to up the ante. Bowing deeply enough so he could see practically her full cleavage in her kimono, showing off her legs as she walked by him, she even walked right up to him in his study and _sat right in his lap!_

It had practically turned into a game for her, finding out how much she could tempt him before he got a boner and walked off before she tried anything bolder. Honestly, he was kinda surprised he'd even lasted this long at _all_. There was no denying that Kuroka was _extremely_ attractive, and something told him she could give him the ride of his life, but he still felt a little uncomfortable with the idea of actually having _sex_ with her. Yeah, it was ridiculous, Kuroka was making her interest _very_ clear, but that was what it seemed like to him.

So, doing his best to keep back the hardening in his crotch, he released Kuroka's wrists and rose up from his pinning position over her. Moving to the side, he dusted himself off and turned to the way he'd came in. "Come on. Training is over for today."

He did his best to ignore her disappointed groan as he walked off. He also did his best to try and walk in a way that avoided showing the slight bulge in his pants. Hopefully it would go down before he rounded up the others.

oOoOoOoOo

Vashyr sat calmly in his chair, letting the information sink in as he twirled a Knight Piece in his right hand. Sirzechs sat across from him, seeming to ignore his contemplations while sampling the snacks that had been brought in. You'd honestly think they hadn't even been talking, but the Satan had actually just given him some information. Some very _useful_ information. "So you're saying there's a way to expand my Peerage past 16 members?"

Finishing the last bite of his most recent treat, Sirzechs nodded in affirmation at him. An image of seriousness that was kinda ruined by the powdered sugar that had settled around his cheeks. "That's right. I hope you'll put this information to good use." The image was ruined further as he proceeded to pout a little. Seriously, guys like Sirzechs shouldn't pout. "Actually, you're not reacting to this at all like I'd thought you would. Other Devils would probably be jumping off the walls."

"Well, so sorry to disappoint you."

Truthfully, Vashyr was doing his damned best to keep himself from doing just what Sirzechs had just said. He honestly didn't know it was even _possible_ for a Peerage to expand beyond sixteen members, it was never entirely clarified in the original series. Come to think of it…. "Why haven't I ever hears of this before?"

The Lucifer shrugged. "It's not a very well-known practice. In fact, it's practically unknown among the Devils of the modern day. And the few who actually _do_ know are simply content with their Peerages as they are."

"But how does it _work_?" Vashyr stressed, being very clear with his question. Sirzechs had come by several times by now, and one thing he noticed about him was his love of dancing around someone's questions before he got to the point. Vashyr considered it a sign that the Satan was getting a little more relaxed around him, for better or worse. "Come to think of it, where did this whole idea even _come_ from?"

Sirzechs didn't answer immediately, simply picking up a napkin and dusting off the powdered sugar that had accumulated around his mouth. Vashyr wondered if the Satan would even answer at all, but then the red haired Devil folded a leg over the other and positioned his elbows so his face was supported by his hands. Great, he was entering lecture mode.

"It's actually something left over from the earliest days of the Evil Pieces and the creation of Peerage's. After the Underworld Civil War and the schism that resulted in the Old Satan Faction, we needed a means to quickly replenish our numbers. You might think this was the part where some of them shouted out, "Let's start breeding! Our future depends on it!"

' _It's amazing what this guy can say with a straight face._ '

Seriously, Sirzechs kept his face completely serious while he said that last part. He didn't even stop to look embarrassed as he kept talking. "It didn't work, obviously. We Devils can do many things, but there are still some obstacles we can't easily overcome. The fact that we have a rather low birth rate, for example, is one such difficulty. So, that left us with the option to find alternatives."

"The Evil Pieces." Vashyr answered.

Sirzechs smiled. "That's right, the Evil Pieces. We may have difficulty procreating ourselves, but our race has a long history of tempting people to our side. Ajuka built on that to devise the Evil Pieces as a means to help our population grow. He'd actually brought the idea to the rulers of that time, but they shot him down immediately. The resulting schism was the start of the Underworld Civil War, and our victory meant the Evil Pieces system could be implemented."

Taking a brief break from his lecture, Sirzechs had a sip of his Thai Iced Tea to wet his throat. "Of course, we couldn't simply leave it at that, right? Above all, we're still _Devils_. We're a race that must constantly maneuver and fight for dominance and influence. Especially when it means gaining some extra power. And in those early days, a strong Peerage was a _very_ potent symbol of power."

"But what does this have to do with expanding the size of a Peerage?"

Sirzechs smiled, undeterred by his interruption. "It's funny what a drive for power can make people do. Forget common sense, throw caution to the wind, or even _gamble_ away something irreplaceable. Like an Evil Piece."

Vashyr stopped twirling the Knight in his hand. A gamble? Why did he put that much emphasis on…oh. "You're saying it's possible to actually _gamble_ on Evil Pieces?"

"Of course," Sirzechs answered, nodding in affirmation. "Keep in mind that the typical minds of Devils in those days were actually quite different than they are now. It's amazing how a period of roughly 200 years can change social norms and attitudes. We were coming right out of a Civil War, a conflict that got our blood pumping pretty hard for a while. If we couldn't find a way to channel all that energy then we might have thrown ourselves into another war, so we had to act fast and find a way to keep it under control. _So_ , to find a way of safely channeling all that new aggression and ambition, Ajuka made a little…..modification to the Evil Pieces. A modification that remains to this day, despite its lack of use among the newer generations."

Holding a hand out to the side, a glowing red magical circle released a Knight into his palm. It wasn't an Evil Piece, Sirzechs had already used up all his Pieces to create his own Peerage, but this was just for giving an example. "It goes like this."

Sirzechs held out the Chess Piece to him, looking for all the world like he was really going to challenge him for something with a fucking _Chess Piece_ as the prize. "In the old days, the actual betting was made between two Kings. The challenging King would wager one of his available Evil Pieces, one that still hadn't been used, for an equal Evil Piece in the Peerage of the defending King. A Rook for a Rook, a Bishop for a Bishop, you get the idea. The only Evil Pieces that _couldn't_ be gambled on were the King and Queen Piece. The King Piece went without saying, but Ajuka thought it would've been unfair for any Peerage to simply keep recruiting Queens. Anyway, once the bet was made, whether or not it happened would depend on the answer of the defending King. If he denied the challenge, then that would be the end of it."

"I'm guessing that didn't happen too often."

He didn't miss the slight twinkle in Sirzechs' eyes. "You'd be right. I only personally remember it happening maybe a dozen times or so in my own recollections, but we're getting off topic. Anyway, if the defending King accepted the challenge, a battle would be arranged between two members of the rival Peerages. The Peerage member of the defending King with the Piece the challenger desired, and either the King of the rival Peerage or another member with the same Evil Piece as was bet on."

"Wait, the King could fight _personally_? How was that even fair?"

The Satan chuckled at him. "Oh, come one. Did you really think Ajuka would've left such a big loophole? The defending King decided which of the two opponent his Peerage member would fight, it was probably one of the only _fair_ things that were ever really enforced among Devils back then. Anyway, once the challenge was finalized, the two rival Devils would fight in a one on one duel. If the defending King won, he got the Evil Piece gambled by the challenging King. If the challenging King won, he'd either get the Evil Piece from the defeated Devil, or take the free unused Evil Piece if there was one available to the defending King. As you can imagine, these duels quickly became rather frequent."

Oh, Vashyr had absolutely _no_ trouble imagining it. A power craving race like the Devils of the Underworld, driven to pursue power and influence practically at the cost of common sense? There were probably more duels from those days than there were even recorded!

It took him a little researching, quite a bit of time spent in his study and reading countless books on the subject, but Vashyr had eventually discovered something important. Something about the nature of all Devils.

He discovered what _drove_ them.

The original series had never really expanded on it, but the fact remained that Devils just weren't Human. They looked Human (barring some exceptions), they talked like Humans, could act like Humans and were even developing the same social fads as Humans. But they still _weren't HUMAN_.

The races of the Three Factions of Judeo-Christian religious myth all had something that drove them, something that made their race what it was.

The Heavenly Angels were defined and influenced by their attachments to the Seven Heavenly Virtues. Charity, Chastity, Diligence, Humility, Kindness, Patience, and Temperance. Every such Angel had an attachment to at least one of the Virtues, and the manner in which it manifested would influence the Angel and whatever actions they took. Not all manifestations were the same, of course, just because two Angels had the same Virtue didn't mean that the Angels _themselves_ were the same.

Take Diligence as an example. One Angel of the Virtue might manifest it as being an organized neat-freak, constantly keeping everything in order and every action on time to budget his every achievement for the greater good. Another Angel of Diligence might manifest it as an unshakeable soldier of Heaven, never retreating or backing down in the face of the most terrifying enemies. Did either of those two sound similar to _you_?

The Fallen, as a dark mockery of the Heaven they abandoned, were driven by the Seven Deadly Sins. Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Sloth, Wrath, and Pride. Two Fallen might share the Sin of Lust, but that Sin was more than just the desire for someone to start calling you God under the sheets. Lust was, in essence, the desire for something immaterial, something you couldn't quite simply hold in your own two hands. Lust for power, experiences, ecstasy or knowledge, that particular Sin had quite a few followers. And there was no reason for them to be dedicated to _only_ one Sin.

Lastly, there were the Devils.

Compared to the other two groups, the force that drove Devils was both more subtle _and_ more overt. It wasn't an attachment to a Sin, and _especially_ not a Virtue, but something that could be considered more abstract than both.

It was Dominion. The desire for power, wealth, status and always looking out for number one. It was the urge to break and bend the world and the people within it to your will, to be top dog no matter what and screw whoever got in your way. It was such a subtle influence in the back of the mind that many Devils often didn't even realize they were following it as their most base instinct, yet it influenced their every action and choice like a voice or urge in the back of their head.

Of course, this certainly wasn't an excuse. These things might _urge_ the Angels and Fallen and Devils to make certain choices, might tempt them, but in the end it was their own _choice_ to follow through with it. Vashyr had already experienced it a few times. That battle with Rita in the forest, his subsequent choice to let her choose to leave his Peerage, when he walked away from Walter as the Exorcist turned down his offer, his drive for Dominion kept telling him to kill and take and bend things to his will.

But it was _his_ call, and it would always be _his_ call. _THAT_ was his Dominion, the power he would influence over his own mind and choices, and he had no intention of letting it go.

' _Huh. I might be a better Devil than I thought._ '

Ah, but he was getting off the topic. He and Sirzechs were talking about something important. "So it was used pretty frequently back then? If that's the case, why did the practice die down? I'd imagine plenty of Devils would be happy to expand their Peerages, even younger ones. What happened?"

Sirzechs banished the Chess Piece and smiled at him. It wasn't an entirely happy one, though. He whispered out, "Peace happened" and was silent for a moment. "I won't lie, it's done many wonderful things for us. Given us an environment where we need not worry if our children will be quickly sent off to battle, given us time to build up a stronger civilization, even allowed us to actually gain some measure of compassion for each other. But it's also taken something from us. Something that drove the other generations, even my own, to push ourselves to greater heights. Care to guess what it is?"

He didn't even need to guess. "Ambition. You've said it yourself, the new generations are just too…content. They're happy with what they have and see no real reason to improve or push themselves. They just coast by because they think they have all the time in the world now." It was _partially_ true, given how long Devils could really live, but it didn't make the point any less meaningful.

"That's right," Sirzechs responded. "They don't have the same ambition as previous generations did. Oh, they might have some plans, but the sheer drive is gone. The ones that aren't content with what they have may hold a few goals, but they're small at best. Which is why this practice fell out of use. They aren't interested in betting their Evil Pieces, instead choosing to hoard the ones they are given."

"But then how can this help me?" he asked, a little puzzled at how this was supposed to fit together. "If the other Kings aren't interested in expanding their Peerages, how would this approach actually…oh."

The Satan nodded at him. "That's right. Stray Devils. They were never really a part of the idea, the thought of Devils abandoning a Peerage was never quite brought up, but their presence actually resulted in something _very_ interesting happening with the Evil Pieces. A…..bug, you might say. With Stray Devils, instead of challenging the King, you could challenge the Stray _directly_ to make the bartering. Ajuka decided not to tell anyone, why should he give more pointers to people who obviously weren't interested in taking even the slightest risk for a good gain?"

"So I'm the _only_ Devil of this generation who actually knows about it?"

"Quite possibly," the Lucifer responded with another nod. "Which is why I'm sure you'll put the information to good use. Plus, the other Devils won't really be able to complain about it. You won't be poaching off anyone from _their_ Peerages, after all."

Huh. Actually, that kinda _did_ make it a little easier. His reputation was already pretty bad, even if it was improving, and stealing Evil Pieces from other Peerages wouldn't help him. Especially not when the Peerages in question were tightly knit.

But Stray Devils? Oh, that wasn't even a question.

He didn't bother holding back his smile. ' _Where should I start?_ '

oOoOoOoOo ? oOoOoOoOo

She was running. Running as fast as her legs could carry her through the forest surrounding her small hometown. Granted, her status as an orphan meant that the word had little meaning to her, but it was still the closest thing she had to any attachment to a particular place.

And now this _thing_ was trying to chase her down and _kill_ her!

She heard laughter from behind her but didn't bother turning back. Not when she needed every available second just to keep running away. "Come on out little girl," a voice beckoned. Deep and heavy, obviously male. Even if the body was too bizarre for the designation to have any real meaning.

"I promise to make it quick. I'll take your head off first, you'll be dead before you can feel any pain while I'm munching on the rest of your body. I'm serious, you have any idea how hard it is to eat someone while they're screaming your eardrums apart? It's _such_ a pain."

It wasn't too far away, but it sounded like there was enough distance to hide somewhere. Her legs were starting to get tired and she couldn't keep running forever. But where could she hide?

' _There!_ '

It was a tree, large and thicker around than small shed. Most importantly, there was an opening underneath it, a hole that led to down beneath the roots. Just big enough for her to hide in.

She didn't hesitate as she crawled in, getting her dirty clothes even dirtier. She didn't even care to notice the sensation of the bugs crawling around and on her as she crawled in, desperate to escape the monster chasing her.

Now beneath the tree, she curled into a ball and did her best to be completely silent. Not even daring to breathe as she felt the footsteps slightly shake the ground. As that _thing_ followed after and looked for her.

"Where'd you go? Come on, am I _really_ that scary?" A booming laugh followed the question. "Smart girl. I didn't expect you to give me this much of a chase. But it's almost over now."

The tree over her started to creak and her eyes widened. Was that thing actually _moving_ the tree? Impossible!

But the monster didn't even seem to care about the limits of what should be physically possible, pushing the tree and causing the roots to follow the trunk as it fell. As it toppled in the forest with her grasped in some of the now exposed roots.

"Too bad I can smell your fear."

Seeing the monster grin down at her, she was too scared to even really notice that she'd been pierced by a few of the smaller roots. Didn't notice the pain as the monster reached down at her with one of its gigantic hands.

' _I….I don't wanna die._ '

Her vision went black, time seeming to slow as death closed in.

Then she felt something form in her hand and the world seemed to clear ever so slightly. The darkness receding as the weight settled in her hand. A sword, she realized, somehow knowing it without even taking a look.

She thrust it out into the monster's face, impaling it through the eye and making it recoil back with a shout of pain.

That was when something suddenly rammed into it from the side and sent it flying.

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

' _My first Stray hunt and things are already going bad._ '

He had come out to this mountain town, Hida-Takayama, in order to chase down a Stray Devil that had murdered several of his fellows and escaped pursuit. A Knight that had required two Pieces to be reincarnated. He'd apparently been seen wandering around here and Sirzechs had thought he would make a good first kill for some extra Evil Pieces.

If only it could've been that easy. He could sense the damned thing running around at the outskirts in the forest. And it was chasing someone, too. How wonderful.

And _that_ was why he was currently flying off in the direction of the Stray, moving as fast as his wings could take him. Good thing it was nighttime, otherwise too many people would be seeing him and requiring memory alterations. He didn't have the time for that right now.

Closing in on the forest, he saw the Stray he was looking for and the monster's unfortunate victim. It was male, not to mention fucking _massive_. Muscular enough to probably strangle a rhino and taller than the height of a truck, he wore just black pants and some black leather straps over his body, not even trying to hide his body's status as an almost literal mountain of muscle.

That was all he had time to notice before _ramming_ straight into the Stray Devil's side, sending the damned thing flying. The Stray was sent skidding along the ground and landing sideways against a tree with a loud crack against it. Probably the sound of a snapping spine, but it also could've just been the sound of the impacted tree breaking.

With the Stray down for the moment, he turned his attention and saw the would-be victim up close for the first time. A young girl of probably 16 or so years old, dressed in cheap and worn clothing that was streaked with dirt. With long black hair and red eyes, he'd say her features were rather notable.

She was also dying. Besides the internal injuries from the smaller roots piercing her body, it looked like there might be something wrong with her back due to the slight angle. Probably from the tree being toppled.

But that wasn't what got his attention the most. No, that was the weapon she was holding in her left hand. It looked like a Japanese katana, no notable features besides the black blade and the clear liquid slowly dripping down in. Poison, he knew. Because he recognized the weapon.

One-Cut Killer. A Sacred Gear that took the form of a sword that leaked and absorbed any number of poisons it comes in contact with, merging and empowering them with every toxin taken in. It started off a little weak, but with enough poisons it could become quite deadly.

That was all he was able to notice before the pained groan from further away got his attention. It was a little embarrassing to note that he'd almost completely forgotten the Stray Devil was even there.

The Stray lifted himself up from the ground, proving it really _was_ the tree that had made the cracking sound. He got a decent look at the face, now that he was much closer. A flat face with a wide jaw and loose black hair going down to the shoulders, it vaguely gave the impression of a particularly large ape.

' _Wait a sec. Is it just me, or does this thing look like the Sloth from Fullmetal Alchemist?_ '

…..Holy crap, it really did! Seriously, it was almost a carbon copy.

The creatures groaning broke him out of his musings. "What the hell? Who are _you_ supposed to be?"

Taking a slight bow, the High-Class Devil introduced himself. "Vashyr Furtur, Marquis of the Underworld and Head of the Furtur Clan. I'll be acting as your executioner."

The Stray seemed to find that rather funny, deep chuckles booming up from his thick throat. "Executioner? Yeah, right."

That was when the Sloth look-alike moved. Actually, scratch that. The Stray didn't really _move_ , so much as shoot at him like a massive bullet. Guess this was the result of using both Knights to reincarnate someone, a really _big_ boost in speed.

Speed that meant absolutely nothing at the moment. Seriously, Sairaorg was still even faster. Hell, Walter was faster too, and Vashyr sparred with both of them.

Calmly stepping out of the way, he stuck out a leg and tripped the Stray Devil in the middle of the rush, sending him toppling into another tree. Hearing the cracking sound as the Stray's head impacted against the tree, he pulled out one of his Knight Pieces and made his verbal challenge. "I, Vashyr Furtur, King of mine own Peerage, challenge you, the Knight Andreas, to a duel for the possession of your Evil Pieces."

He didn't even budge as the Knight in his hand lit up with a dull red glow, tiny symbols appearing on it as atrial of light shot off into Andreas, the Stray Knight.

The Devil flinched slightly as the light hit him, his own Evil Pieces lighting up inside his body. "What the fuck just happened?"

That was all he said before Vashyr moved to strike. Moving with all the speed he'd gained from his many spars against Sairaorg, he summoned up a Lance of Lightning and rushed to Andreas' side. Swinging the Lance through the air, its edge melted clean through the thick neck of the Stray Devil, like a literally red hot knife through soft butter. Nary a hint of resistance.

Andreas' body was still standing even after his head hit the ground, his Evil Pieces continuing to glow from the challenge. Slowly realizing the duel as over, the two glowing objects in the Devil's body slowly moving towards the victor. As the two Knights slowly reached the edge of the Stray's body, Vashyr held out his hand and they pushed out of the body to land softly into his waiting palm. ' _Bingo._ '

But there was something…. _off_ about the Knight Pieces. They felt differently from the normal ones, disregarding they were of the opposite color to his own, jet black.

Regardless, he had the new Evil Pieces. The process worked.

' _But what about the girl?_ '

He turned back to her, the poor girl's eyes wide in a combination of fear and shock. He couldn't blame her, anyone would probably be reacting like that after seeing all this shit. It wasn't helped by the fact that she as dying.

' _Oh no you won't._ '

He walked over to her, ignoring the girl's look of fear as he approached and her breathing sped up. Holding out a hand, he started doing his best to heal her injuries as his hand was enveloped with a warm light. The girl froze briefly, surprised as the pain faded and she let out an involuntary groan of relief.

Unfortunately, his attempt at healing made him very aware of all the damage she'd taken. There were several punctures in her internal organs and various ruptures. There was also some notable damage to her spine, probably enough for her to lose the use of her legs. These injuries were pretty serious. Too serious for his abilities to address.

That left only one option. An option that his instincts were somehow immediately telling him to shoot down. Jeez, no wonder some Devils went nuts, his sense of Dominion was practically trying to push his thoughts down one road in spite of anything else.

More or less, his thoughts were telling him to let the girl die. After all, what was one little girl with a Sacred Gear when he could always find more on his own time? Especially when he could just be wasting an Evil Piece on someone he may very well allow to leave due to circumstance?

He had to admit, he might be wasting an Evil Piece. He might be throwing someone useful away and doing something many other Devils wouldn't even think of.

But he wasn't a normal Devil, wasn't he?

"What's your name?" he asked the girl. He might as well know who he was doing this for.

The girl looked at him, probably a little surprised that he'd even decided to speak at all. Opening her mouth to speak, she was stopped by a few light coughs. Calming down after a moment, and with a light trickle of blood going down from the side of her own mouth, she answered him. "A-Akame. My name's Akame."

He blinked at that. Akame? As in….no way. It had to be his imagination. Either way, it didn't change anything. "Akame, you're injuries are too heavy. Even if I do my best to heal you, you're gonna die."

Surprisingly, she didn't just straight up panic after he told her that. She was actually rather calm, in fact, looking at him after he told her. He thought she would've broken in tears, started panicking and shouting, done _something_. But no, she just seemed to…accept it.

"I'm dying," she whispered. She sounded so tired as she said it, so resigned. "I see."

"And what if I told you that you still had a way out?"

It was Akame's turn to blink in confusion, looking at him like he'd just told her something impossible. In her defense, it kinda was. "But….but you just said-"

"I said I couldn't _heal_ you," he interrupted. "But I _do_ have a way to save your life. But taking it means giving up your humanity, leaving your old life behind you and becoming something else entirely. You might not even last very long, with stuff like what happened today being almost common. Is that a price you're willing to pay?"

He wasn't going to lie to her, wasn't going to sugarcoat it. Even if he allowed her to become Free Piece, she would still become a Devil. A member of a completely different race, with a different culture and society. She'd spend the rest of what could be a life either long or cut short needing to fend off enemies of a whole new world.

To her credit, she didn't answer immediately. She actually took a moment to think it over, some time to weigh her options. Smart girl.

"I…..I want to live."

It was practically squeak coming out, weak and pitiful. But it was her answer. Good thing he'd gotten those new Knight Pieces.

oOoOoOoOo Akame oOoOoOoOo

She was awoken by the smell of food. _Very good_ food, if her nose was giving her a good indication. Better than anything she'd ever smelled before.

Slowly forcing herself up, she opened her eyes and looked around in awe at the room she was in. Luxurious and _huge_ were the two words that came to mind, making it very clear that it belonged to someone wealthy. _Very_ wealthy, if the rest of the house was similar.

But none of that even mattered once the door to the room opened and the _delicious FOOD_ came in, held on a tray being brought in by some servant. A rather beautiful maid with tan skin and long red hair.

The maid almost stopped when she saw Akame was up in the bed, but kept walking towards her with a friendly smile. "Oh, you're already up. Vashyr thought you'd take a little longer, and thought you'd like something to eat."

' _Vashyr?_ '

Her silent question was answered as someone else walked in, the same person who saved her before. So _he_ was Vashyr.

Her moment of surprise was shattered when the woman placed the tray of food on the bed and took off the top of the tray, revealing the food beneath. It was a huge steak! With potatoes and sautéed mushrooms and onions! The sight was enough to make her mouth practically water.

She didn't even notice as the maid left and Vashyr stayed behind, she was so focused on the food in front of her that the whole place could've come down on top of her head and she wouldn't have even noticed. The smell was just _so_ good.

' _This can't be real. It can't really be happening, right?_ '

She was shaken from those thoughts as the man beside her spoke. "Yes, it's real." He gestured to the food in front of her. "Go ahead and eat. You're probably close to starving, right?"

Her growling stomach was the only answer she gave, unable to put anything into words.

Slowly, she reached out and picked up the silverware, a fork in her left hand and a knife in the right. Taking off a piece of the steak, she shakily brought it up to her mouth, put it in, and took it off the fork.

' _It's so good._ '

Her eyes were watering slightly as she chewed, as she tasted the best food she'd ever had in her whole life. Was this real? Was it really happening?

"You don't need to hold back on my account," Vashyr commented. "Eat up. It's all yours."

She didn't need any more encouragement. She put the silverware down and almost dove into the food, picking it up with her fingers and putting it directly into her mouth, ripping off chunks of the _wonderful_ steak with her teeth and eating it up like she was a starving animal.

And the whole time, the tears kept flowing down her face as she ate. Even as she constantly muttered out a sobbing "thank you" with every bite.

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

He didn't ask Akame to slow down. He didn't tell her to hurry. He didn't see any reason to push her right now, at all. This was probably the happiest moment she'd had in her life so far, waking up in a warm bed and given a full meal. He wasn't about to soil it somehow, not even as she started sobbing while she ate and started choking out "thank you" with every bite.

She finished the food pretty quickly and started cleaning off with the napkin that Rita had given her with the food. He used his magic to conjure up some water and hold it out to her in the form of a floating ball. She seemed a little surprised by it, but relaxed when he motioned that she could drink from it to wash down the food.

She didn't speak to him for a while probably trying to register everything that had happened to her. It was understandable, given that she was essentially killed before being resurrected as a Devil and woke up in a huge bed with the best food she'd probably ever had in her life. She had every reason to be a little disoriented.

That said, the shock of it all only seemed to be brief. After barely ten seconds of silence, she turned to him on the bed with her legs folded in and brought her head into a bow until her face was pushing into the mattress. "Thank you."

It was a good thing he'd had so much practice on his poker face, because otherwise he might have actually looked a little embarrassed at her display. "It's no problem. But right now we need to talk."

She slowly brought herself back up, tear lines still marking her face from the crying. "Talk? Talk about what?"

"About your new….circumstances." He answered, trying to find a good way to explain her new changes. Coming up blank, he decided to just o for the direct approach. "Your resurrection involved more than just bringing you back from the dead. You aren't Human anymore."

"Not…Human?"

He shook his head. "You're a Devil now." It took some time for his words to register, but then her eyes started to slowly widen as it sunk in. He held his hands up in a "slow down" gesture, trying to help her keep calm. "Easy, easy. I know it sounds big….okay it _is_ big, and there are some changes. But the changes themselves aren't particularly bad or even noticeable if you're careful. I can help you learn to deal with them, and then you can do what you want."

She still seemed to be panicking slightly and he really couldn't blame her. Waking up from apparent death to find out you've suddenly become a Devil was a pretty big deal, and he had very _personal_ experience with that little fact. But she calmed down after a moment, seeming to draw some certainty from his own calm. She spoke in a stutter, "W-what's changed?"

"For one thing, you'll find you're significantly faster and stronger. Not by much to be immediately noticeable, but still there and it'll only grow as you get older. Which leads me to the next thing, your potential age has gone up. Like, _WAY_ up. Probably at least a millennia if you play your cards right."

 _THAT_ seemed to surprise her, if her widening eyes and shrinking pupils were any indication. It was definitely new info, but they were still only getting started. Giving her a moment to recollect herself, he continued his explanation. "But it has some downsides. Devils have enemies, and that means that _you've_ got enemies. Two different groups in fact. We can help you with that, train you to use your Sacred Gear and defend yourself, but you'll still need to be careful."

"Sacred Gear?"

"That sword you summoned up before. Point being, we can help you be ready for whatever you'll potentially meet." He took a deep breath before releasing a sigh. "After that, you'll have to make a choice."

"A choice." she repeated, her eyes narrowing slightly. "What choice?"

"Whether you'll stay or go." He answered. "If you want, you can leave when it's over. You can just go and live however you want."

And he was really fighting hard to keep his Dominion under control. Funny how it was his Dominion that encouraged him to just let Akame die. He was starting to think the whole _Devil on your shoulder_ thing was a little more literal than expected.

' _Too bad. MY call._ '

Because that's all Dominion really was. An urge, an instinct, a desire in the back of your mind. Always there, always encouraging, but _never_ the deciding factor unless you allowed it to be.

He remembered a line from some time ago. From a videogame, Dragon Age 2. A line from Malcolm Hawke in the Legacy DLC. "Magic will serve that which is best in me, not that which is most base". Replace _magic_ with just _power_ and it suited the nature of Dominion perfectly. Above all, it was a choice. And he _CHOSE_ to ignore it, here and now and however many times he'd have to.

Surprisingly, or maybe not, Akame didn't seem entirely keen on that option. She was understandably nervous about being potentially left alone in a world she didn't know, regardless of whether or not she knew how to defend herself. "What about the other choice?" she asked, tentative and maybe a little hopeful.

"The other option is that you could stay here. To join my Peerage, something you'll learn about while you're in the manor. But no matter what choice you make, I'm not going to force you. It's _your_ decision to make, not mine."

His explanation over, he sat silently and waited for her to respond. He wasn't really expecting an answer right away, just a response to show she understood. She spoke up, so lightly he could barely hear that she said something at all. "What was that?"

"If I stay," she started, louder than before but still barely above a whisper. "What then? Will it be like _this_?"

' _This?_ ' What was she talking about? "What exactly do you mean?"

"I-I mean…..will there be more days like this?" She took a glance at the now empty tray, all the food currently resting in her stomach. "With food? And a warm bed?"

' _Oh._ ' He almost forgot, this girl was probably an orphan. The state of her clothes sort of implied it, but he wasn't sure. Now, with her questions, he was much sure than before. "Yes. It will be. If you choose to stay, I can personally guarantee that you'll never go hungry again. If you want to leave, I'll do it even if you choose _not_ to stay."

Getting up to leave, he turned around and headed for the door. She probably wouldn't give him an answer right away, but that was fine. He could wait for a while.

He was stopped when a hand grabbed the half cape over his right arm, trembling slightly as it held him. Turning his head around, it was confirmed to be Akame's. She was shaking, sobbing, as she held him with trembling fingers. "I want to stay."

….Whoa, she made her decision already? "You don't need to rush, y'know. I can give you some time if-"

"I want to stay. Can I, please?"

' _Oh, dammit. How can I say no to that? She looks like a scared puppy._ '

"Of course you can."

As soon as the words left his mouth, she seemed to calm down. Her trembling stopped, and she pulled her hand back after she let go of him. Using the hand to rub at her face slightly, she suddenly looked very tired. "Can I get some rest? Please?"

"Take all the rest you need."

Turning back to the door, he didn't even notice the beaming smile she gave him as he left.

oOoOoOoOo

' _What a day._ '

Really, today had been exhausting. He'd been kept busy almost from the day he woke up and things just got more exciting from the get-go. First a long training session with his Peerage, then that meeting with Sirzechs and the resulting hunt for the Stray Devil, rescuing Akame and adding her to his Peerage, he was a little surprised he hadn't just dropped on the ground by now.

Come to think of it, the ground was actually looking kinda comfy right about now. Was that just the exhaustion?

Shaking the thought off, he marched down the hall to his own room. He'd be damned (literally or otherwise) before he fell asleep in the fucking hallway!

Finally reaching his room, he quickly entered and shut the door behind him. Snapping his fingers, his clothes briefly glowed a soft red light before disappearing, leaving him in just his boxers to sleep in.

"What a day."

Walking over to the bed, he lifted the covers and crawled in. Finally, he could get some sleep. Turning to sleep on his back, he started up at the ceiling for a moment and let his eyes slowly close, drifting off to sleep.

…

…

…

' _Dammit! Why can't I sleep!?_ '

Seriously, why? He was tired, he _knew_ he was tired, so why was he so alert right now? For some reason, his instincts just wouldn't let him go to sleep. What was wrong with him? There couldn't be anything in his own home that would be dangerous, especially not in his own room.

…Wait. Why did the mattress feel off? And…..was something moving?

He quickly pulled up the sheets over himself, looking down to see what it was.

Familiar amber eyes looked back, attached to an equally familiar face. Kuroka.

And she wasn't wearing anything.

' _Wow. Good instincts._ '

 **xXx**

Well, I'd say this was easily my biggest chapter yet. Satisfying, everyone?

Before anybody asks me the question, yes it's _that_ Akame. Or at least a character that resembles her closely enough to be the Akame of a different series. There won't be a Kurome, though.

Also, I personally made up the idea for this addition to the Evil Pieces system. The idea of a Devil gaining other Evil Pieces was never really brought up in canon, so I thought up a feasible way for it to potentially happen in a society like the Underworld. I didn't want Vashyr to just get the pieces without _some_ effort involved, and I especially didn't want him to do so by poaching off of the Peerage's of other Kings, that's pretty much a dick move no matter how you try to justify it.

I also hope you all appreciated the little training montage for his other Peerage members. I got a review that actually asked me for it and I realized I hadn't really given one yet, so I'd like to thank you for pointing it out and I hope you liked it.

I also wanted to do something that that, in all honesty, doesn't really come up often in Highschool DxD fics. An explanation of just _how_ the members of the Three Factions are different from Humans. I mean in a way besides just having wings and some cool powers. It's only appeared in two other fics I've been able to read and I admit t drawing some inspiration from them, but I also tried to put my own spin on the Dominion idea. As far as I know, _that_ idea hasn't really been done before.

In case it wasn't clear from Vashyr's own monologues, Dominion is _not_ just some convenient excuse for why Devils pull some dick moves. It's an urge, an instinct, but the end result is _always_ a choice that depends on the Devil himself/herself. A dick move motivated by Dominion is still a dick move they make fully of their own volition. I really hate it when people try to pass off that kinda shit with some crappy excuse. (Yes, Naruto, I'm looking at you and that stupid bull about that _Curse of Hatred_! That's a complete load!)

Plus, you'll soon be getting that Kuroka lemon I'm sure you've all been waiting for. Trust me when I say I'm gonna make it as spicy as I possibly can. I mean, this is _KUROKA_ we're talking about, how could it _not_ be spicy. Rest assure, it doesn't mean she's deeply in love or anything like that just yet. That's not coming till later, but her reasons _will_ be explored in the lemon itself.

Review and have a nice day!


	11. A Bloody Crow

Chapter 11

 **A Bloody Crow**

xXx

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

It had been roughly a week since he'd recruited Akame into his Peerage as his Knight and his…uh, night time meeting with Kuroka. He as pretty sure the night would be forever ingrained into his memory, considering how _intense_ the memory was. He couldn't find it in himself to be embarrassed of that particular fact, though.

Either way, he was happy that some progress had been made on Akame's abilities. She'd all but thrown herself into training in order to unlock her Sacred Gear and become more useful to him. He remembered seeing her waking up at the crack of dawn to go out and start training, forcing her body through intense physical pressure to activate her Sacred Gear again. Never once did she stop or complain, she just kept going no matter how battered or bruised she got, no matter how much it hurt.

He'd honestly felt a little outdone while watching her train so hard, so he'd gotten some work of his own done and put together a new trick while sparring with Sairaorg. He'd actually been working on it for a while, planning it for even longer, but he'd only worked out a combat usable form of it rather recently. A little something he'd seen in an anime that he thought would mesh well with his abilities. It wasn't exactly perfect yet, but it was a good first step.

Still, he couldn't help but think Akame's sheer drive was because she thought he would just abandon her if she didn't quickly manifest her Sacred Gear. He was actually about to allay her concerns, but she'd unlocked her One Cut Killer within three days of training and it ceased to be such a concern. She was currently honing her skills by sparring against Walter, but the progress on _that_ front had slowed down slightly.

It wasn't that Akame was a bad fighter, far from it, but she didn't seem to have much immediate promise in regards to using an actual _sword_. She showed good instincts and reflexes, and her speed was rapidly enhancing, but that could only go so far when she didn't really know how to _use_ a sword. Something that was all more notable, given that there was nobody in his Peerage capable of teaching her.

He'd thought of asking for some help from Sirzechs on that matter, maybe getting her some lessons from Sōji Okita, but he'd decided against it in the end. It's not that she wouldn't improve, or even that Sirzechs might say no, but he just wasn't comfortable relying on the Lucifer for help whenever he got into a speed bump. He wouldn't be able to rely on the help of the Crimson Satan for everything, so getting too dependent would be dangerous in the long run.

It was for that reason that he started flexing a little muscle of his own, and Rita had proven herself indispensable yet again. Vashyron had been able to find her and the rest of the original four members of his Peerage, so that meant he must have had a network of his own in order to find interesting candidates. He'd had his servants look in his own territory to find Kuroka, but he hadn't known about the larger network until Rita had personally confirmed it before getting to work on them. She quickly put herself on the job, sending out some probes for any notable sword users in the Human world.

That had been three days ago, giving Vashyr some time to think a few other things over. One thing in particular, to be exact, as he sat comfortably in the chair of his study, carefully twirling a Knight piece in his fingers.

It was one of the two Evil Pieces he'd retrieved from Andreas, the Stray Knight he'd killed a week ago for his two Evil Pieces. He'd noted back then that they felt strange, more _intense_ than his own Evil Pieces, but he hadn't been able to quite figure out _why_. But now he knew.

It's because they were _Mutation_ Pieces. Evil Pieces that had a far greater capacity for revival than the standard model, hoarded by their possessors as great resources for inducting the most powerful people into their Peerage. And he just got _two_ of them!

It took a little thinking to figure out how, but it didn't take long for him to put the pieces together. While some Mutation Pieces simply existed as they did from the start, others underwent some form of metamorphosis through unusual circumstances. Issei's Evil Pieces underwent such a change in canon, due to his _apparently_ rapid growth in power and being connected to his Boosted Gear. It was even stated in canon that Evil Pieces could grow stronger over time, so that cleared it up.

All things considered, an Evil Piece undergoing such a change because its host Devil broke away and became a Stray and having their own power go out of control wasn't all that hard to believe. Yet another thing that was never brought up in canon. Damn you Ichiei Ishibumi, why the _hell_ did you gloss so much stuff over? Did you just enjoy leaving people with plot holes?

Either way, holding up the Mutated Knight closer to his face, he couldn't help but realize how much of a boon this could be. Having Mutation Pieces would mean he'd be capable of inducting more powerful people into his Peerage. Given that a single Mutated Bishop in canon allowed Rias to recruit Gasper, a Dhampir with Forbidden Balor View that possessed a fragment of Balor's soul, he could recruit some _very_ powerful people. If he played his cards right, he could have one _hell_ of a Peerage. That meant having more powerful subordinates to fight in the coming conflicts.

But that only meant something if he had some powerful candidates lined up to recruit. So who could he start with?

He got his answer as the door to the study opened up, revealing Rita as she entered with her usual smile. "Got a present for you." She teased, holding up a file in front of herself with a cheerful glint in her eye as she walked forward.

He couldn't help the smile that formed on his own face in turn. "Really? And it's not even my birthday." He reached out for the folder she held to him, pulling it back and opening it up to start reading. Looks like someone in Vashyron's little network had found something. A young Human woman who happened to be….. _scarily_ good with her sword. She was put on the radar when she personally killed a Stray Devil that had wandered into her town. A Pawn, but still impressive for a Human with no forms of supernatural enhancements.

Looking through the pictures of the incident, however, he didn't think _kill_ was a strong enough word for what had happened. No, she completely _slaughtered_ the poor thing. She'd butchered it so badly that the Devil in charge of the territory couldn't even work up the guts to intervene. And this was from some vanilla Human? Kinda scary.

As he flipped another page and saw the face of the young woman in question, Vashyr briefly froze in recognition. Where had he seen that face before?

She was youthful looking, probably no older than eighteen or so. Slim and with an athletic build, but still noticeably feminine. She was wearing a white shirt baring her midriff under a black jacket and over black pants and…..yeah, _black_ shoes. Guess he knew what her favorite color was. Her hair was a rather interesting tone, some kind of shade of silver or grey, tied into a ponytail and long enough to go to the small of her back.

But what most stood out were her facial features. A smooth looking face with slightly high cheekbones and slanted grey eyes.

And a rather _disturbing_ smile. The kind of smile you thought of whenever a cat spotted a particularly large and juicy canary. It was probably worse for whoever was taking the picture, because she was smiling _right AT_ _ **HIM**_. The poor photographer had probably suffered some kind of heart attack.

' _But why the hell does she look so familiar?_ ' Seriously, he was _sure_ he's seen her somewhere before. He was pretty sure he'd never met someone like her in person before, so _why_ did she seem so familiar.

He got his answer when he scrolled up to see her name.

Karasuba Asama.

Oh, _SHIT_!

oOoOoOoOo Rita Lupo oOoOoOoOo

Rita watched her master quietly, taking in his reaction to the information. It was subtle, but she'd gotten pretty good at actually reading his moods by now. She'd always been pretty good at sensing those little signs and reactions in people, she figured it had something to do with her…let's call it her _animal_ side. And, right now, it was letting her pick up Vashyr's little tells.

"You know her?" she asked, voicing her curiosity.

Vashyr shook his head. "No, I haven't met her before. She just…seems a little unsettling. That isn't exactly a _peaceful_ smile on her face."

Rita shivered slightly, knowing _exactly_ what he meant. She'd looked over the file herself on the way back, making sure everything was in place, and felt a chill go down her spine as she saw the young woman's smiling face. That kind of expression was one she knew very well, one _every_ Werewolf knew.

It was the smile of a predator moving in for a feast, their jaws dripping with blood.

Swallowing slightly, she gathered her wits to respond. "Yeah, I noticed. Unfortunately, she's the only one we've really found that fits the bill so well. Do you want the agents to keep looking?"

His expression shifted slightly, showing he was going over his options. The woman was dangerous, maybe even _very_ dangerous, but she was an extremely skilled sword wielder, and they might not find someone better for quite a while. He was currently going over the risks and rewards in his head, weighing the options. It didn't take him long.

"No," he answered, closing the folder as he rose up from his seat. "If nothing else, this Karasuba is _very_ good with a sword and very strong regardless. Recruiting her would mean getting a strong addition that could also teach Akame. Two potential gains for one excursion? Can't really ask for a better deal than that."

She looked up at his as he stood to his full height, it briefly dawning on her how tall he really was. She stepped back slightly so she wasn't looking right up. "So you're going?"

He nodded at her. "Like I said, two for one. I can't really turn a chance like this down, can I?" He walked past her, patting her on the shoulder as he went. "Thanks, Rita. Take some time off for your hard work. I owe you that much."

With that said, he walked off on his own little mission and left her behind in his study, unaware as she stared at his back as he headed off and disappeared around a corner.

' _A break?_ ' she thought. While she appreciated the gesture, she wasn't really sure about taking it up. He made it clear that he still had quite a bit of work to do before things were in perfect order around the manor, particularly regarding the size of his Peerage, and she really wanted to help him with that. He was her master, her King, and she wanted to serve him as best she could. It made her happy to know she was doing a good job and know that he appreciated her.

She sighed as that thought came up, a rueful smile on her face. ' _Jeez, what's wrong with me? Am I really turning down a break?_ '

Maybe she could use a little time off. Aria really loved playing with Shirone, but she'd wanted to spend a little time with her big sis recently. Maybe this would be the chance.

Still, there was one thing left for her to do. Something to check up on that'd been bugging her for a little while.

Steeling herself for what was to come, she headed off to the Residential Wing of the manor, ready to confront someone. It probably wasn't anything big, but she needed to make sure, her responsibility as Vashyr's servant demanded it, and she wouldn't shirk it.

' _Time to see the Queen._ '

oOoOoOoOo Kuroka oOoOoOoOo

The Nekoshou was filing her nails when she heard the knock on her door. Taking a moment to check over her work, she casually called out, "Come on in, Rita."

The Werewolf didn't answer immediately, just waiting outside the door for a bit. ' _Unusual_ ,' she thought. Rita usually came in right away, it wasn't like things were awkward between them or anything. Why was she so nervous?

The door slowly opened and Rita helped herself in, looking a little more…. _serious_ than usual. While she usually walked around with a happy and chipper demeanor, she currently moved with some kind of tension in her. Like she was nervous or something. Kuroka tilted her head slightly. "Is something wrong?"

Rita looked at her for a moment before answering. "No, nothing's wrong. I just…I wanted to talk with you for a bit."

The Queen of the Peerage raised a delicate eyebrow. "You know you don't need to be so nervous around me, right?" Making the file disappear with a brief flash of magic, Kuroka spread herself out on the couch, the very picture of laid back. "Come on, what's wrong?"

The Werewolf didn't seem to mimic her relaxation, proving that this wasn't something small. Taking a moment to collect herself, the redhead moved to take a chair across from Kuroka in the room. Sitting down and keeping her in sight, Kuroka could see her mentally going over what to say and use to break the ice.

It didn't take her long, fortunately. "You've been acting differently around Vashyr, recently."

Kuroka tilted her head slightly. Was _that_ what this was about? "Is that a problem?"

Rita opened her mouth and almost responded, but then thought better of it and closed her mouth. The Nekoshou could see the gears turning in the Werewolf's head as she thought over her response, proving that this _definitely_ wasn't just a friendly visit. "I saw how you acted around him some time ago. Trying to get his attention, showing yourself off." The redhead's eyes narrowed slightly at her. "So why did you suddenly stop? What happened?"

Kuroka blinked. ' _Oh. So THAT'S what this is about._ '

Twisting herself into a sitting position, Kuroka let out a breathy sigh. "I think you already know why."

And _just_ like that, the atmosphere in the room seemed to get slightly colder. Rita's eyes quickly narrowed even more at the confirmation, a slight growl coming up from her throat in response. It was a very extreme reaction, considering just how chipper and friendly she usually was, but Kuroka as unmoved, not shifting from her relaxed posture. Sure, the reaction could be interpreted as a little intimidating, but she knew Rita wouldn't attack her.

Rita didn't speak back right away, trying to take a moment to calm herself down. With deep breaths and clenched hands, she slowly regained control of herself and the atmosphere became a little less hostile. "You slept with him."

Quite telling that she didn't even phrase it as a question. "Yes. I did."

oOoOoOoOo Rita Lupo oOoOoOoOo

' _Easy,_ ' Rita thought, trying to keep herself calm from Kuroka's confirmation. ' _Easy, easy, calm down. No point in getting angry. I'm sure she had a perfectly valid reason for…..for doing THAT._ '

Honestly, Rita wasn't really sure why she was feeling so confrontational about this. She respected Kuroka, she even kinda liked her. They both got along well, they liked hanging out once in a while and even traded a few stories about their pasts together. They'd even shared a few stories about their little sisters.

Point was, she _trusted_ her. She also had faith in Vashyr and that he wouldn't be manipulated by anyone, so _why_ was she so steamed about this? They were both adults that had every right to decide who they had a fling with. She should even be a little happy for them, but instead she was just being so…so….she couldn't even think of a good word.

Forcing herself to calm down, she tried to keep her voice level. "Why?"

"Why did I sleep with him? Do I really need much of a reason?"

Rita did her best to choke back her growl. Closing her eyes for a moment, she did her best to recollect her thoughts and get her mind in order. Nothing good would come of getting angry right now. She liked Kuroka, even _trusted_ her, but she needed an answer for this.

"Kuroka," she started, her voice coming out soft and subtle. "I don't _want_ to believe there's some secret reason for it. I don't want to think you're manipulating him." She looked the Nekoshou in the eye, their gazes meeting. "But as Vashyr's servant, as a member of his Peerage, I _need_ to be sure. So, _why_ were you so intent on having sex with him before? What was the point?"

To her annoyance, Kuroka didn't immediately respond. She just looked at her, an unreadable expression on her face as silence filled the room. It went on for a few seconds, then ten, then twenty and she thought it would _keep_ going on. She opened her mouth to speak but, as fate would have it, Kuroka chose that very moment to answer.

"There wasn't any point. I just wanted to have my first night with him."

Rita's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "That's it?"

The Nekoshou nodded. "That's it. Is it so strange?"

As much as she wanted to question her on it, Rita really couldn't think of anything to say.

Kuroka let out a sigh, leaning back into the couch in her usual relaxed position. "I actually thought about it for a while. I mean, what's really not to like." She smiled. "He's done so much for me and my little sister, hasn't tried at all to take advantage of me, he's very friendly and has a _wonderful_ sense of humor, he's never anything but sweet with my little sister, brought us into a home like _this_ ," she spread her arms out, encompassing the room. "And, last but not least," her smile morphed ever slightly, matching the glint of mischief in her eyes, "he's _very_ nice to look at. Such nice eye candy."

Rita did her best to hold back a blush on her cheeks as the tip of Kuroka's tongue darted out to lick her lips. It was even harder to keep the blush in check because of her own…experience. ' _She's not exactly wrong._ '

The Queen must've noticed her discomfort, because the mischievous glint in her eyes became, if anything, even more pronounced. "Oh, now _that's_ unexpected. I didn't think _you've_ had a turn with him."

Rita's hands clenched. "Don't talk about it like it was that simple."

Really, it wasn't. Her reason for that one night with Vashyr were entirely different, something she needed to do in order to move on. It wasn't something done on a whim, nothing like what Kuroka had done with him.

But, as much as she liked to say she'd moved on from it, she had to admit that she had…enjoyed herself. It certainly wasn't an unpleasant memory, something that _really_ stood out. It was probably the first memory of her time in this Peerage that she honestly didn't feel like she wanted to forget.

But she couldn't let herself get distracted by that right now. This was more important than that one night from months ago.

Kuroka seemed to realize she'd stepped over a line, because her mischievous look quickly toned down and she became serious again. "Look, I can understand why you're worried, but I'm not trying to seduce him or anything. I have no intention of trying to use him."

Rita quirked an eyebrow. "Really?"

The Nekoshou nodded in response. "Really." A small smile appeared on her face, her expression becoming something slightly wistful. "Though I've gotta admit, the thought of it becoming something more serious isn't exactly unappealing. Maybe it's a one night stand, maybe we just keep it physical, maybe it changes into something more, who can say? But I promise you I'm not trying to use him in any way. And I _won't_ regret my first night being with him."

And with those words, Rita could tell that she meant it. Guess she was concerned over nothing.

Rising up from her seat, the Werewolf let out the breath she had been holding in her lungs since this conversation had started. It really took a lot of concerns off her mind to know she didn't need to worry about Kuroka. Guess she was just being paranoid after all.

"I see," she nervously said. "Well, thanks for clearing that up. Sorry for the trouble."

Kuroka shook her head at that. "Don't worry about it, I can understand why you wanted to make sure he was safe."

Rita's smiled slightly as she moved to the door. She had _almost_ opened it when Kuroka spoke out again. "After all, you're starting to like him too, aren't you?"

oOoOoOoOo Kuroka oOoOoOoOo

' _Oh, I'm sorry Rita, but you're just TOO much fun not to lead on a little._ '

Really, she meant what she'd said. She would never go so low as use Vashyr like that after everything he'd done for her and Shirone, not ever. She wasn't about to complain if he'd like to continue their little nightly meetings, or if it became more serious over time, but _using_ him? Never!

But that didn't mean she couldn't tease Rita a little bit. Especially if she could give her a little nudge towards him herself.

After all, she did _so_ love watching romances unfold around her. And she was _sure_ that something would develop between Rita and Vashyr sooner or later. Might as well help them along a little.

Plus, Rita just looked _so_ adorable as she froze by the door with her face seeming to turn beet red. It was made even better as she started sputtering incoherently at the accusation. People could be so much fun to mess with, and Rita was just making it too easy for her.

"W-w-what are you talking about!?" the Werewolf shouted out as she twirled in place to look at her. She had the most _adorable_ expression of embarrassment on her face, wide eyed and cheeks as red as her own hair. "It's _NOT_ like that, I swear! He's my master!"

Kuroka nodded in affirmation. "Mine too, but that doesn't mean I can't _appreciate_ him." She licked her lips suggestively, trying to stifle her chuckle as Rita let out an 'eep' and turned away from her. ' _Oh, this is SO much fun._ '

Kuroka couldn't help it, she got up from the couch and snuck up to embrace Rita from behind, getting another eep from the young woman. "What are you doing?!"

Kuroka just tightened her hold, resting her chin on the other woman's right shoulder as she spoke. "Oh, come on now. Why so nervous?" Her left hand started to move, snaking slowly up her body to gently rest on Rita's right breast, getting a squeak from her with a barely noticeable _squeeze_. "Come on, Rita, you don't need to hide it from me." She breathed lightly into Rita's ear, drawing out a shiver. "I mean, I'm not opposed to _sharing_ the fun with you, if you'd like."

Rita let out a yelp as Kuroka applied another squeeze to her breast, breaking free and twirling around, looking at her like she'd just gone crazy. "What are you even _saying_!? I'm _not_ interested!"

And with that, she turned back to the door and ran right out. Rushing into and down the hall like there was something nipping at her heels the whole way.

Kuroka smiled predatorily at her back as she ran off. "That's not what your reaction is telling me." She whispered, _just_ loud enough for the Werewolf to hear her.

Rita's near trip at the end of the hall showed that the words had _just_ the effect she'd wanted.

' _Looks like things were gonna start getting fun._ '

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

All things considered, finding Karasuba's trail hadn't been all that hard. Granted, it required a more specific search pattern than walking up to someone with a picture and asking "Have you seen this woman?" but it was shockingly easy when certain things were taken into account.

Looking over the other towns she'd inhabited in the past, he noticed a few things about how she operated. It wasn't an entirely consistent pattern, often broken by an inconsistent kill, but it was enough to form a good picture. In every town she'd visited, rarely staying for more than a few months, the Stray Devils had taken up a place to hide in an area that was largely abandoned by the population to keep out of the public eye. Oh, the more daring ones sometimes popped up in more populated areas, but they largely stuck to the edge of town where nobody could hear the screams of their victims.

And that was where they were found dead. All of them eviscerated to the point of being reduced to strips and ribbons of meat rather than a whole corpse, their blood smeared all over the slickened ground and walls. If nothing else, Karasuba certainly didn't alter from her preferred method of killing. In fact, he could honestly say it made her all the easier to track down.

Now, that might not seem like much of a clue on its own, right? So what if all the Stray Devils were killed in that general area? It was probably just because they all happened to be concentrated there and Karasuba could've just zipped in to kill them before heading back to wherever she was staying. A fair point, but it overlooked _one_ little detail, and a rather important one.

Karasuba was, for all her skills, a regular human. She didn't have any Magic or special powers, no unique lineage or anything to really connect her personally to the supernatural world. And a regular Human, regardless of Skill, couldn't just zip in and out so quickly.

That meant one of several things. First was that she personally lived in the area. Possible, but not ALL too likely, given that someone else would've found her hideout in the area after a while, which nobody ever _did_.

The second possibility was that she had some kind of accomplice, someone skilled with Magic enough to teleport her in and out. That was _very_ unlikely, given that there was no trace of Magic at the sites of her kills at all. Not beyond the stuff leaking from the corpses, anyway. Besides, the file made it clear she was a lone predator, no way would she rely on someone else like that.

The last possibility it left him with was some sort of advantageous position. That she had some way of quickly traversing the distance on foot without anyone seeing her.

And from what he'd been able to piece together from her previous appearances, that last one fit her perfectly. The reason? All of the towns she'd inhabited were along the coast, each with a rather large river going through the center that led out to the sea. And with those large rivers were equally large drainage systems with tunnels that went _all_ over the town. Including the older areas where the Strays tended to hide away.

He'd checked the size of some of the tunnels in the towns she'd previously inhabited and they were easily big enough for a human to ride around in with a motorcycle.

And that was the reason he was currently suspended above the water of one such tunnel, using Magic to check the layout of the drainage pipe and how far it spread out under the city. It wasn't really a difficult spell, only requiring him to channel some energy into the structure and have it spread out through the rest like a sonar, bouncing back to him with an imprint of its size.

' _Oh yeah. Definitely big enough._ '

Entering the tunnel, he walked forward while keeping his senses sharp. He was entering her turf now, and that meant he had to be careful. She'd already killed plenty of Stray Devils and Rogue Exorcists in the past, and he wasn't interested in adding his own body to her kill count.

oOoOoOoOo Karasuba Asama oOoOoOoOo

It wasn't exactly the most luxurious abode in town, in fact it as actually pretty pitiful. Just a sleeping bag and some extra blankets with a big pillow, a bag holding a few changes of clothes, a bunch of cleaning products for removing blood, a couple electric lights for illumination, and the motorcycle she used to get from place to place. Not a great place by anyone's definition, but it suited her just fine.

After all, it's not like she spent _that_ much time down here. She just came down to eat and sleep, as the empty bottles and take-out containers testified.

Absently running the piece of cloth along her sword, she cleaned it with the same loving care she always lavished upon it. Buffing the metal until it seemed to shine in the relative darkness of her little temporary home, lit only by the electric lights she kept nearby.

Getting up from her seat on the ground, she gave her oldest friend a few quick swings, testing its path through the air and listening to it _sing_.

' _Looks like she's happy._ '

Call her crazy, but Karasuba had always found herself relating better to blades than she did with people. They were made for a purpose, used for that purpose, and found a fulfillment in seeing that purpose through to the end. There was something enviable to that simplicity, in her own mind anyway.

Maybe that was why she liked fighting so much? A desire to emulate them? Possibly, but she didn't really care. Her only concern was the next battle, the next challenge, the next moment that got the adrenaline pumping through her veins and the blood ringing in her ears. She didn't need to know why, she just needed to live in the here and now.

' _Nice and simple._ '

Too bad it was getting harder to find real fights now. The first few times she'd fought those Stray Devils had been _exhilarating_! She'd never felt so alive before, every move being a gamble between life and death, straddling the edge with every passing second. That was the rush she lived for, what she'd always craved, and she'd _finally_ found it!

But then it had gotten too easy, those monsters suddenly losing their novelty as she became so much better at reading their movements and reacting, her instincts honed to such a sharp edge from fighting them so many times. They were fun at first, but it quickly became obvious that they were all force, just raw and unfocused strength. They were like children that didn't even know how to use the strength they had.

Those other people, the ones calling themselves Exorcists, had been a pleasant surprise for her. Unlike those Devils, the Exorcists actually had a pretty good degree of skill to their fighting abilities, meaning they were actually capable of coming up with tactics and knew how to use what they had. They might've been physically weaker, but made up for it with tricks and cunning.

Too bad it didn't change their lack of raw power, though. Eventually they became just more chaff to her, just more speed bumps as she traveled along on her lonely road.

She sheathed her sword with a huff. "Jeez, why the hell am I thinking like this? They aren't worth thinking about."

Maybe she'd be heading out a little earlier today. She hadn't really scoped the town out beyond the older areas, so maybe she'd missed something. Might as well go out to ease her boredom.

She was just about to get on her motorcycle and ride off before she heard something and froze.

For a moment she thought it was just the sound of water dripping from the ceiling again, certainly a common enough occurrence. She _was_ essentially in the center of a big storm drain system, so there certainly wasn't a lack of moisture. But the sound was too…. _heavy_ for it to just be drops of water hitting the ground. It was almost like…

"Footsteps?" she questioned, aiming it at nobody in particular.

But as the sound grew closer, she decided that, yes, it really _was_ the sound of footsteps. Someone was actually walking along in the storm drain. And it _wasn't_ her.

Someone had found her. And she could barely suppress the smile that wanted to form on her face as she drew her sword and got ready for a greeting.

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

His steps echoed in the large pipe of the storm drain, the sound bouncing around the interior of the pipes before coming back to him in dull echoes. He was starting to understand why Karasuba had liked these kinds of places so much: it was impossible for someone to sneak up on her. There was no way she didn't know he was coming from the sound he was transferring through the pipes, so she just _had_ to know he was coming.

And if what he'd learned from her file was accurate, her greeting would be somewhere in the neighborhood of hostile and more than a little manic. Preferably with her sword drawn and ready.

Which was why he'd already prepared a lance of lightning for the clash. Might not exactly be a _trusting_ gesture to visit someone with a weapon in hand, but it was best to screw politeness when you were dealing with a potential homicidal maniac. Besides, he might not have come her _planning_ to kill her, but he was more interested in preserving his _own_ life in these kinds of circumstances. He had to prioritize.

He was also _very_ grateful for the night vision granted by his Devil body, it made moving through these tunnels so much easier. He was pretty sure he'd be walking along with testing steps and keeping a hand on the wall to know where he was going if he didn't have it. Not exactly a dignified entrance.

His musing came to an end as he saw the tunnel ending up ahead, opening into what seemed to be a rather large cavern.

Preparing for an ambush, he cast a quick spell to sense for anyone else in the room to avoid being caught by surprise. It was a very basic spell, easily blocked even by a novice, but the reports said that Karasuba had no skill or power in Magic at all.

His suspicion as confirmed hen the spell showed there was exactly _one_ person in the cavern. Armed and ready for a fight.

"I know you're in there," he shouted out, trying to make the words clear in spite of the echo. "If you want to fight me, fine. But I don't suppose we could talk for a moment? If you want to fight me than we can do it after. Okay?"

He didn't receive an answer nor expect one. If this Karasuba was _anything_ like the one from Sekirei, the chances are that she wouldn't be interested in talking at all. Still, no harm in trying, right?

Making sure his steps were even and clear, he moved forward to the cavern entrance, making it clear he coming in. Passing the threshold, he was mildly surprised that he wasn't immediately attacked by her the moment his foot got in.

Entering the caver fully, he turned to see his host and was greeted by the strangely tranquil expression of Karasuba as she stood in a traditional kendo stance. He could tell how tense her muscles were, ready to spring into action at a moments notice and send her sword slicing through the air straight towards him. Hopefully he'd be able to avoid that.

"You must be Karasuba," he politely stated, giving her a nod of recognition. She didn't really respond. But neither did she move to attack. "My name's Vashyr Furtur, but you can just call me Vashyr."

Karasuba's smile grew just a little, her expression briefly seeming to become just a little less menacing. "So nice to meet a Devil with some manners for once. The others never really seemed too interested in talking. Then again, I don't think anyone would want to talk while they're getting carved up."

"Did you ever try talking with them _before_ you attacked them? I know they're not much for conversation, but they'd probably spend some time gloating a little."

She rolled her eyes. "I _hate_ gloating. If you're gonna kill someone than you should just get it over with. Don't waste time talking about it."

"Something we can agree on," he commented. Seriously, why did so many people always stop to gloat or monologue when they were about to win? It was so much smarter to wait until their opponent was dead so they could gloat over a corpse, or at least make _damned_ sure that they were down for the count and couldn't get back up.

Her smile seemed to actually get a little friendly at that. "Oh, you agree? That's good. Then you can understand why I won't be gloating until you're bleeding to death on the ground."

"And _why_ haven't you started trying to cut me up yet?"

Her expression shifted slightly and he couldn't help the bizarre impression that she was somehow _pouting_ at him. It was so wrong in _so_ many ways. Karasuba didn't pout, no matter what world she was in.

"Don't you know it's rude to cut someone up when they're trying to have a polite conversation with you? My parents didn't raise me like that. Why else would I be waiting politely until we stop talking?"

That….actually made a scary amount of sense, coming from someone like her. Either way, he might as well get to the point. "Do you know what a Peerage is?"

Her stance didn't change, still staying in that ready position, but her expression shifted at his words again. Curiosity? "Peerage," she slowly repeated. "I think I heard that word from some of those Stray Devils I killed, but I'm not sure what it means." Her head tilted slightly. "Is it something important?"

oOoOoOoOo ? ? oOoOoOoOo

An elderly man stood on the platform of the lab hidden beneath the earth. A place of research and creation that he'd put so many years into. So many projects and plans born and implemented in this very room. So much progress made.

And now one of his finest projects yet was about to be taken due to security. "It's too dangerous", they said, "that manic girl will attract too much attention", they told him. Bah! He _hated_ when people interfered with his research, _hated_ it with a burning passion down to the center of his being. Did they not know they were interfering with something _great_? Something that could shake the very foundation of the _world_?

So it was with barely concealed contempt as he was forced to watch them take away the tank below, restraining himself from shouting at them to be more careful with one of his greatest achievements yet.

For within the tank, there rested a little girl. Not very impressive at a glance, just some little girl of perhaps 14 years old with long blond hair. So small looking and apparently fragile that she barely even looked her actual age.

But appearances were deceiving, Grigorio knew that better than anyone. The appearance of weakness, the appearance of power, the appearance of mortality or stability. Practically any _appearance_ in existence was merely something waiting to be proven wrong, a façade put up over something so much more _promising_ underneath. This little girl was no different.

A part of him also appreciated the irony of such a tiny body being made to contain the power of a Heavenly Dragon, but that was merely a bonus.

After all, what fun was life without a little irony?

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

"So, that's the long and short of it."

Karasuba's attention didn't waver from him for even a moment during his little exposition. He did his best to condense all the necessary information about Devil society and the Underworld and Peerages, but there was only so much you could effectively explain over a few minutes. Karasuba might have been polite enough to listen for a little while before she came at him blade swinging, but he was willing to bet there was a limit to her patience.

The look on her face was a little hard to read, but that wasn't anything new. She seemed to be rather fond of low key expressions rather than anything grand, but he figured she'd be reacting more strongly than just….. _staring_ at him with such a blank look.

"Let me get this straight," she said, her words coming out flat. "You're some kinda King of the Underworld," he nodded, "you're recruiting people to your own little brigade," he nodded again, "and you came here because you want to recruit _me_ into your little team as a…. _Knight_ , was it?"

He snapped his fingers. "Nailed it."

The snapping sound of his fingers echoing in the cavern was the only noise as they stared each other down. Karasuba's stance hadn't changed at all from when he'd entered, holding that same ready position with her sword drawn. It was a little amazing how she could still hold it for roughly five to seven minutes without even budging.

Then she started chuckling and her stance seemed to fall apart. Her feet shuffled slightly, her left arm wrapped around her midriff and she didn't even try to keep her eyes on him. She just threw her face up as her chuckles turned into laughter and bounced off the walls and ceiling.

It was actually a little creepy seeing someone like Karasuba laugh like that. It wasn't that the laughter had any malicious notes in it, but it was the _absence_ of anything menacing. It just sounded like the kind of innocent and pure laughter of a child finding something funny.

' _Okay, THERE'S some nightmare material for later._ '

Fortunately for his sanity, her laughter didn't really last too long. Barely 15 seconds passed, in fact, before she calmed herself down and looked at him again. "Aw man, you have _no_ idea how funny that all sounds. I mean, _come on_. It sounds like something out of an anime!"

He fortunately managed to keep his thought of ' _More than you'll ever know_ ' from slipping out of his mouth.

"Unfortunately," she said slowly, relaxing her body as her humor finally died down. "I'm afraid I'll just have to settle with cutting you up."

He sighed slightly. He figured she wouldn't make this easy for him, he'd even kind of expected it, but that didn't mean he couldn't hope. "Don't like the thought of working for a Devil?"

She chuckled again at his words, feeling some kind of humor. "No, nothing like that. It's just…." she stopped talking, her eyes seeming to go distant a little as she seemed to look beyond him, beyond the cavern they were in, to see something only she knew.

But she eventually regained her focus and looked at him again, breaking away of whatever vision she had. "It's just that I can't really see myself signing up for that without a fight. And I _always_ fight to win."

' _Ah_ ,' he thought, the picture clearing up a little. ' _So THAT'S why._ '

Not exactly ideal, but it was an opening. "Then how about a little bet?"

Her right eyebrow perked up, her expression showing _just_ a hint of curiosity. "What, we talking cards or something?"

"No," he answered, shaking his head. "We settle this the way I'm sure you'd like. Put simply, we fight. I win and you join up, you win and I die. Simple as that.

"Really?" Her eyes took on a predatory glint, lips turning upwards slightly into another smile. "No complaining if you lose? I _really_ don't like it when people try to back out on me."

Vashyr shrugged. "I did a similar bet with another member of my Peerage. I'm only asking that you kill me quickly if you win." He smiled at her. "After all, I wouldn't want both our time to be wasted if you start gloating. That'd just be hypocritical of you."

This time she smiled in earnest, her eyes dancing with a combination of predatory light and honest humor. "Y'know, I think I just might be starting to like you."

He readied his lance for any incoming attack, taking a stance of his own. "I hope it's not enough to go easy on me?"

She _launched_ herself at him, sword coming down in an overhead swing with her teeth bared, her face twisted with a bloodthirsty smile and her eyes opened the widest he'd seen. "NOT A CHANCE!"

Her sword came down in a vicious arc, slicing through the air like a bulled shot into the earth as it impacted against his lance of lightning with all the force of a sledgehammer.

But he blocked it all the same and Karasuba continued her assault, undaunted by him stopping her blow.

Moving in closer to his guard, she pulled her sword down as she continued the cut, dragging it with the handle to bring the razor sharp edge closer to his face.

He could feel it cut through the air as he pulled his face back, moving his body to the side as he shunted her away.

It took her less than a second to regain her balance and twirl around to face him again, twisting her sword back towards him in a vicious arc that he blocked yet again.

But she didn't stop at one attack, continuing into a flurry of blows. Upward slash, stab, downward stroke, a cut towards his head, a piercing lunge towards his chest, every attack leading into another with all the force and intent to act as a finishing blow all on its own. They barely even seemed to count as separate attacks, instead seeming to merge together into a flowing dance of steel whistling through the air.

Vashyr was honestly rather impressed. If he was right, then she was actually moving roughly as fast as Walter, maybe even _faster_. She was singlehandedly pushing herself to the very limit of what should be possible for a Human and she probably didn't even know it. And if _that_ wasn't enough, he was pretty sure she could still go even _faster_.

But, even with all their speed, he still avoided getting hit even once. She caught him by surprise with that first attack, her initial rush coming at a speed he didn't expect, but he adapted and pushed his own speed to match her, brought to bear all the speed and reflexes he'd developed in those sparring sessions with Sairaorg. She was fast, almost _inhumanly_ fast, but even she couldn't compare to Sairaorg.

And, unlike his spars with his fellow Devil, he was allowed to enhance his body with Magic for this fight.

So every slash was blocked, every thrust was shunted aside, every close attack was dodged, and he kept the lead.

Karasuba seemed to notice, but she was hardly discouraged. In fact, the smile on her face made it clear he was only encouraging her.

oOoOoOoOo Karasuba Asama oOoOoOoOo

' _He's still alive._ '

That one thought repeated itself in her mind, ringing inside her skull like the mantra of some madman. It emphasized itself with every repetition, growing louder and more pronounced. ' _ **HE'S STILL ALIVE!**_ '

Again and again she brought her sword against him, clashing it against that weird weapon he was holding, every failed attack urging her to keep fighting.

No. To keep fighting harder!

So she fought harder, brought her A game to the fight and threw herself into the battle like a woman possessed, like some berserker of the Vikings from the distant past, swept up into bloodlust as her ears started ringing and her vision shined red.

This was gonna be a good day.

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

' _Something's wrong._ '

The thought went through Vashyr's mind as he blocked another slash towards his neck, warding off yet another attempt to take his head off. Her attacks were coming in even faster now, but it still wasn't anything he couldn't handle. That was probably the only reason he could think about anything besides blocking and dodging her attacks, parrying and shunting aside her offensive.

And that's when it hit him, right when her sword passed by him again. How was her weapon still in one piece? It should've been destroyed through mere contact with his lance of lightning, but it was still solid. How?

Well, he'd find out when this was over. He had more pressing things to worry about at the moment.

Like how Karasuba was somehow still pushing herself to go even _faster_.

oOoOoOoOo Karasuba Asama oOoOoOoOo

Her heart was beating.

No, that didn't do it justice, didn't display the gravity. Everyone's heart beat in their own chest, that steady beating that showed they were still alive, told them their blood was still flowing.

But that wasn't the case for her. Her heart may have beat before, but never like this. It wasn't just beating, it was _thrumming_. It was like the sound and sensation of a drum being struck inside her chest, the sensation of _thunder_ flowing in her veins instead of blood.

For the first time in her life, she felt _ALIVE_!

(BEAT)

Alive.

( _BEAT_ )

Alive!

( _ **BEAT**_ )

SHE'D NEVER FELT SO ALIVE!

A keening cry erupted from her throat and ripped free from her lips, reverberating on the walls as she moved faster than she'd ever moved before. Faster than she'd ever even _thought_ she could move, her sword flashing through the air in blurring silver arcs as she _laughed_ from the ecstasy and thrill of the moment.

And for the first time since the fight began, she had started pushing him back. It wasn't like his footwork before with quick steps and maneuvering, he was falling back under her assault. She was pushing him back and getting him really on the defensive.

She sensed rather than felt the smile on her face, so wide that it probably made it look like her face was being split in half. Baring her teeth like a snarling attack dog as she closed in.

' _More._ '

Her sword flashed out again, cutting straight through the air to his face and just barely ghosting the very edge across the skin, drawing out a thin line of wonderful crimson blood.

' _MORE!_ '

She laughed, sounding to all the world like someone from a mental asylum as she pushed herself even _harder_. Fought to keep pushing this guy back until he hit the wall and she could carve him up and be covered in his blood. Covered in the blood of the first person to make her feel this way in her whole _LIFE_.

' _GIVE ME MORE!_ '

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

' _Okay, there's NO WAY she's really just a normal Human. WHAT THE HELL?_ '

Seriously, there was no way a Human should be able to move this fast. _Walter_ hadn't been able to move this fast, and he was an Exorcist prodigy. She'd even managed to actually get a scratch on him, albeit a light one, and she was still going strong.

The most disturbing thing was that she actually seemed to be getting _aroused_ by the fight. He could see it in the glazed look of her eyes and the blushing on her face, hear it in the panting of her breath and keening screams. It was actually kinda disturbing.

And that damned sword of hers wasn't helping. It was so strange, he couldn't even feel any Magic coming off the damned thing, but it was somehow able to keep in one piece despite clashing with his lance of lightning. It should've been melted down to a puddle of steel by now, but there wasn't even a burn mark on it.

But that wasn't his biggest concern. No, his concern was that he was steadily giving ground now, Karasuba was actually pushing him back.

And it was only a matter of time until there was no more ground to give and he was pushed against a wall, a guaranteed problem. He was good with his spear, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that Karasuba was even better with her sword. And she'd show him just _how_ good once he was backed up against the wall with nowhere to dodge. Even bringing all his speed against her would mean nothing if she cut off his maneuverability.

So that was why he needed to pull out that little trick he'd been working on.

' _Guess now's as good a time as ever._ '

oOoOoOoOo Karasuba Asama oOoOoOoOo

' _Almost. Almost. Almost._ '

Almost done, she almost had him to the wall where this would all be over. Just a little longer and she'd be swimming in that sweet, hot, crimson blood. Just a little longer until sheer _ecstasy_.

Second by second ticked by, feeling like a blissful eternity to her. She was in heaven, Nirvana, every kind of paradise that she'd ever heard about. A long moment of the greatest rush she'd searched for her whole life.

This was _her_ paradise, _her_ Heaven, _her_ Nirvana. This was _her EVERYTHING_!

Then his back hit the wall and she hit the peak of the moment, the very crown of the rush and excitement as her sword flashed along the side and sailed toward his neck. As her blade streaked sideways through the air like some horizontal guillotine of a great executioner upon the neck of a man condemned for death.

Deep in the pit of her stomach, beneath all the bliss and contentment, she was actually a little sad that this had to end.

And that's why she was shocked out of her whole stupor when it didn't.

Because the moment before her sword connected, barely a split second, it was deflected.

She was brought down from her high with all the speed of the slashes of her own sword. ' _What?_ '

And right after that one question flowed through her mind, she suddenly found _herself_ put on the defensive. That glowing spear streaking out like bolts of light in searing arcs and piercing lines, coming so quickly she barely managed to deflect the attacks.

She was pushed back in the face of the new offensive, giving ground with every parried attack as she was forced to step back.

All the speed that she'd worked up over the fight had practically vanished, leaving her feeling so slow and lethargic as her opponent just kept advancing like a living storm. Maybe it was just her eyes playing tricks on her, but she could've sworn she actually saw tiny flashes of electricity on his body right as he moved. Like there was a pulsing shock with every twitch.

But she didn't have any time to think about that, she needed to focus on fending him off. Not easily done when she was being forced back. Every attack she tried to send out was intercepted before it could really even begin, her every parry seemed to be seen in advance and twisted to get her off balance, with every move for offense and defense just being countered before it could take effect.

And just like that, she found herself backed against a pillar. Ironic that after the whole fight, _she_ was the one to face defeat with her back to some kind of wall. As the strange spear darted out, burning through the air on a direct route to her face, a thought came to mind. ' _I've lost._ ' Kinda weird that she wasn't so upset about that.

But as the spear closed in to her face it immediately twisted away, sliding to the side of her head and _melting_ the part of the pillar it contacted with in a harsh sizzle.

She would've gone back on the offensive if she didn't suddenly feel something akin to the impact of a flying _bowling ball_ hitting her in the gut, causing all the air to shoot out of her lungs in a gasp that held the tiniest drops of her own blood. She could've sworn she actually felt her bottom most ribs shatter from the impact, her legs suddenly having all the tension of wet noodles as her body was held up only by the very fist that had hit her.

And as it sunk in that the fight was over, her opponent spoke two simple words that she'd never heard from any lips but her own. "I win."

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

He did his best to concentrate as he focused on healing the injury he'd dealt to Karasuba's abdomen. He was honestly a little surprised she hadn't tried to keep fighting, but it looked like she knew when to accept a loss. Probably for the best, all things considered.

A part of him actually berated himself for allowing the fight to be a melee. He rested pretty firmly on the Wizard end of the Warrior-Wizard-Thief triangle, and getting into a close range battle with Karasuba had been pretty damned risky.

The logical part of his kept saying that beating her in her own field would send a better message and give her less room to complain, while another _also_ noted that it was a great opportunity to see how he'd physically progressed due to training with Sairaorg, but logic tended to be inconsistent when exposed to people and their own little quirks.

"Hey"

He took some of his focus off healing Karasuba's ribs to look up at her. "Yeah?"

"You could've done that trick from the start, right? That thing with the sparks on your body."

He did his best to keep the surprise off his face. ' _She SAW that?_ ' Her brain must've been going a mile a minute just to have noticed that. It was actually kind of scary, in fact. Still, no point in lying about it now. "Yeah. I could've done it at any time."

He thought she'd probably be angry at that, at the very thought that he'd essentially gone easy on her, but she just smiled and let out a chuckle. Or at least she _tried_ to chuckle, given the state of her two bottom ribs. He hadn't _quite_ healed them yet.

But those busted ribs didn't do anything to keep her from smiling. "I never stood a chance against you, did I?"

He shook his head. "No, you didn't."

It was harsh, but still the truth. Karasuba was very skilled, _terrifyingly_ skilled, and had the speed to match it. She was probably as fast as the average Devil, if not a little faster. But his training with Sairaorg and the ability to reinforce his body with Magic allowed him to be even faster.

And that was without even bringing up the new power he'd been developing with the lightning portion of his Clan Magic. It was still in the beginning stages, but he was working on an ability similar to the Cloak of Lightning that was used by the Third Raikage from Naruto, an ability that allowed him to vastly enhance his speed and reflexes. Crappy show, but it had lots of interesting abilities he could replicate with his Magic.

He hadn't really perfected it yet, it was still a new ability after all and would likely take him _months_ of dedicated training, if not a year to perfect it, but it already showed promise. Even if he could only keep the flow of lightning active for _seconds_ at a time, it still boosted him enough that Karasuba seemed to move in slow motion, allowing him to easily turn the tide of the fight in his favor.

Of course, that was all ignoring the fact that he could've just stayed at range and pelted her with powerful spells from a distance. That was his strongest strategy, in fact.

Contrary to his expectations, she actually seemed to like his honesty on the matter. "Don't sugarcoat anything, huh? That's good, I hate it when people pretty stuff up to make shit easier to swallow."

He finished healing her ribs almost the second after she said that, rising up from the ground and offering her a hand. She just grabbed it with a smile and hoisted herself up, not hesitating for a moment. "So, guess this means I'm your new Knight now, huh?"

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "You're taking this….surprisingly well."

' _Oh, there's that pout again._ '

Seriously, Karasuba should _not_ pout. Wasn't that some unbendable law of the universe? He was pretty sure it was supposed to be a commandment of the fabric of reality.

"What do you think I am, some little kid?" ' _Well, you're definitely pouting like one._ ' "We had a deal, I _keep_ my deals, and backing out is for sore losers." The pout was gone after she said that, replaced with something predatory again. "Besides, keep your prey closer, right?"

"Enemies."

She shrugged dismissively at that. "Prey, enemies, targets, all the same thing. Point is, _I'm_ the only one who gets to cut you up. Can't let someone else do it without me looking bad, so I've gotta keep you in one piece until I can have my rematch." She chuckled again, that low and predatory sound. "Besides, I've got a feeling I'll be plenty entertained around you. Guys like you are just a _magnet_ for trouble, and that means more fighting for me. Everybody wins!"

' _Is fighting all this lady thinks about?_ "

…..Okay, stupid question, this was _Karasuba_ of all people.

Still, he couldn't help but share the smile with her. With a fight loving attitude like _that_ she was definitely gonna enjoy being in a Peerage that'd be right in the thick of things. "I can personally guarantee that you'll be thoroughly sick and tired of fighting after six years are up."

Somehow her smile got even wider at that, showing just how much she'd _love_ to take up the bet. "Then what are you waiting for. _Knight me already!_ "

 **xXx**

Whew, LONGEST chapter yet. I thought of ending it when Karasuba shouted out NOT A CHANCE, but I thought you guys had probably gotten a little tired of the cliffhangers by now. I'm still a little unsure about my ability to write fight scenes, so I'd appreciate all the input you could give me on how I did and what needs improving.

Anyway, I'm sorry if that prototype Cloak of Lightning seemed to come out of nowhere. I've been trying to show him training his abilities in some of the previous chapters, but the idea to show it here kinda popped into my head at the last minute and I thought it would've just been way too cheap for me to go back a chapter or two and rewrite it to say he'd developed it. So I tried to put in that explanation early on about how he'd been developing the trick while he was training with Sairaorg. First off, let me say it isn't perfected, just like Vashyr himself had admitted. He can't keep it active for longer that at most two seconds per use, and it's gonna be a while before he can show off a finished product.

As for Karasuba, I wanted to portray her in a way that did her skills justice without her coming across as unrealistic. Fact is that Karasuba, for all her sheer skill and speed, is very much a normal Human, I'm TELLING you that she doesn't have a Sacred Gear or any supernatural ancestry, she's just so naturally skilled and fast that she's capable of easily slaughtering Stray Devils. Her sword IS something unique, not a Holy Sword, but it's not a conventional weapon. If she DID just have a normal weapon, it would've been destroyed when the fight began and the scene wouldn't have done her justice.

Regarding her personality, I tried to make it easy to show who she's based on, but she isn't ENTIRELY like the Karasuba from Sekirei. She's still bloodthirsty and loves fighting, but this one is a LITTLE more of an Anti-Hero.

Lastly, the scene with Kuroka and Rita. I'm sure at least SOME of you have taken the time to read my earlier Authors Notes about how I believe relationships develop, how they take TIME, and I have every intention of backing that all up, I'd be a pretty crappy write otherwise. Keep in mind that it's been roughly six months if not more since Rita accepted Vashyr as her master and she's been working very closely with him. She doesn't love him yet, she's just starting to develop a bit of a crush and Kuroka loves to tease people. Kuroka is also starting to develop a little bit of a crush also, she's just a bit more honest about it. I'm not interested in making them fall right into his arms yet, six months or so isn't enough for that, but it's enough for the seeds to be planted.

Anyway, I hope you've all enjoyed this new chapter of The Will To Power. I'm gonna see if I can get out a chapter for World of Remnant: Online and A Scorpion's Disciple before coming back to this. Feel free to go to my profile to check them out if you haven't already.

On a side note, please point out any spelling errors you find so that I may correct them, as good grammar is a bit of a pet peeve of mine.

Please review and have a nice day!


	12. Trouble At Home And Abroad

Chapter 12

 **Trouble At Home And Abroad**

xXx

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

' _I know I shouldn't be too surprised, but DAMN she's fast!_ '

Seriously, Vashyr thought Karasuba was fast _before_ , but she was blowing her previous speeds out of the water now. Hell, screw blowing it out of the water, she was blowing her previous speed limits into the fucking _stratosphere_!

But at least he could still follow her movements, unlike the poor Stray Devils that she was currently massacring. He imagined she must've been quite terrifying, little more than a blur, followed by the momentary flash of steel in the air as it closed in.

After reincarnating Karasuba as his newest Knight, Vashyr thought it best to handle the reason she'd arrived in town in the first place; the Stray Devils that had showed up and made the region their home. It was only the responsible action after all, the more Stray Devils they killed would mean less people getting murdered and eaten by them. It would also help him by allowing him to gain some new Evil Pieces from them, so it wasn't like he wouldn't benefit from it. He'd even had that in mind before showing up, making sure to memorize the general locations of the Stray Devils in the area.

Unfortunately, Karasuba had taken to the opportunity a little _too_ well. The moment they went searching in any of the areas with traces of magical power and found a Stray, she immediately rushed in and cut the damn things down before he could make the challenge for their Evil Pieces. What a waste.

Oh, he'd managed to challenge a few of them for their Pieces, the problem was that it wasn't how many he _could_ have gained if Karasuba hadn't cut so many of them down in a flash. Still, beggars can't be choosers. And it was still a good chance for him to see how Karasuba's speed had been boosted after being made his Knight. He had to admit, it was a rather intimidating sight. He might just have to step up his training to make sure she didn't leave him behind in the future.

That said, Vashyr was of the opinion that she'd be even more terrifying is she wasn't accidently ramming into walls or streetlamps. Even if she managed to recover from the impacts quickly enough that it seemed like the collisions had never even happened.

As it turned out, it seemed being _given_ a new and very significant boost in speed could be rather counterproductive without the time and training to effectively harness it. Something he'd have to keep in mind.

He'd also need to remember to bring a camera if this ever happened again, but it'd probably be best not to tell Karasuba about that.

His line of thinking was broken as he heard a bubbling gurgle from her latest kill, a deep slash through the neck that left only half of the neck whole. Rather notable, given the Stray Devil seemed to have a mutated body with a particularly thick neck in general.

' _What does it say about me when the sight of a slashed throat doesn't get a response anymore?_ ' Food for thought.

"THIS IS SO AWESOME!" Karasuba shouted out, eyes wide even as her pupils seemed to shrink down to pinpricks. Seems like she'd really taken to her new speed, disregarding her lack of fine control over it. Probably understandable, given she likely had more adrenaline pumping through her body than blood right now, but no less scary.

As she turned that expression over to him specifically, he couldn't help but be disappointed that the Stray Devils they'd found couldn't keep her occupied for at least a _little_ longer. He was staring to worry she might attack _him_ if she didn't find anything else soon.

Her breath was coming out in quick and shallows gasps, but it was obvious to Vashyr that exhaustion couldn't be further from the reason for her panting. It was even made even more obvious when she spoke, a gasp of " _PLEASE_ tell me there's more," with almost a hint of _pleading_ in it.

He was barely able to bite back a sigh. ' _Looks like I've got a problem child. Yay me._ '

oOoOoOoOo Grigorio Iscamenty oOoOoOoOo

"IMBECILES!" Grigorio shouted, his balled hand slamming down hard upon the railing. "Be _CAREFUL_ with that tank, it's more valuable than all your lives put together! Do you hear me!?"

The damned oafs had very nearly dropped the tank containing his masterpiece, destroying the result of _decades_ of research from cumulative sources. A magnum opus brought together with resources that were all but impossible to acquire. _And they'd very nearly destroyed it because of one of them slipping on the damned floor_!

Fortunately, the men seemed to get the message after the shout. They made sure to step very carefully and in synch with one another, making sure to not make the same mistake. ' _At least they can learn quickly enough._ ' Really, this was why Grigorio _hated_ needing to rely on help. It would be so much easier if he could do everything on his own.

An impossibility? Perhaps. But no less desirable of a capability.

He was shaken from his thoughts at the shout of, "Bishop Grigorio!" coming from a nearby entrance. It was Matthias, one of his more competent and therefore _bearable_ assistants. And he actually looked a little worried.

"What is it, Matthias?" Grigorio inquired, doing his best to keep his tone civil. Far be it from him to deny a little politeness to someone who actually showed some _competence_. After all, good help was so hard to find. "Is something wrong?"

The young man was panting by the time he reached him on his elevated platform, apparently quite winded. Did he _run_ all the way here? That was certainly odd. It was far outside Grigorio's interest to concern himself with the personal lives of his subordinates, but Matthias had never particularly struck him as a physically inclined fellow.

' _It's also annoying that he's wasting time PANTING. Say your piece, dammit!_ '

Really, couldn't he talk first and start panting afterwards? He was wasting precious time, even if it was merely seconds, by spending time panting. _PRIORITIES YOU FOOL_!

Fortunately, Matthias managed to fully recover his breath before Grigorio lost patience with him. Taking a moment to regain himself, the assistant reached into his pocket and procured something that he proceeded to hand out to him.

Grigorio barely gave it a glance. "A photo?"

Matthias nodded. "It was picked up by one of our security cameras in the outer perimeter. There's an intruder incoming. A _familiar_ one."

Grigorio raised an eyebrow at that, intrigued. A _familiar_ intruder? Reaching out to take the picture, Grigorio gave it more than a glance this time, doing his level best to analyze it.

It was unfortunately not that easy, given how grainy the photo happened to be. The camera wasn't exactly of the highest quality, but there were still some physical details he was able to discern from it. The intruder was somewhat short, apparently feminine, and was currently dressed in what looked like a hospital tunic. Yes, this person was definitely familiar. But not because of any of the traits listed previously.

No. What stood out was the girl's vibrant hair. _Pink_ hair.

He didn't even notice as a smile crept onto his face, slow and predatory. "Lucy, you're home."

oOoOoOoOo Lucy oOoOoOoOo

It was sunny. Warm. The rays of light beaming down from the sky to warm her skin as she walked. Anyone else probably would have considered it quite pleasant, just a day that they could be happy to be alive.

Lucy couldn't bring herself to care at all.

She didn't care about the sun on her skin, didn't care about the wind on her face, didn't care about feeling the grass and ground beneath her feet.

She didn't even care about the rapidly increasing pain that felt like her whole body was breaking down with every step. As if her muscles seemed to spasm with every twitch and stretch, her bones so strained that she felt like they could snap at any moment. She could feel her body failing her, almost brought to unconsciousness from the pain.

But she was so close. So close to the person who was responsible for this, for all the pain and torment. So close to finally _killing_ him!

She stumbled slightly, almost tripping over the bared root of a tree. Damn that bastard for building his lab out here in a forest, it would be _so_ much easier if she could just walk in a straight path, but she was needing to maneuver around all these trees and bushes. It was _infuriating_ , she didn't have _time_ for this shit!

"Screw it!"

Ignoring the pained haze, Lucy reached into her mind and forced her powers to manifest. A distorted shell of force surrounded her body, seeming to interfere with the very air. Flashing in visibility for but a moment before it vanished.

And then, in a radius of almost 50 feet around her, everything was reduced to ruin in mere moments. Trees somehow breaking in half and being pushed away, rocks shattering and being reduced to dust, roots in the ground being torn out and thrown away, every bush seeming to be sent flying as if struck by an invisible arm.

A cacophony of noise and chaos surrounded her, portions of the landscape crashing around and crushing what lay in their way. Entropy draped the area like a cloak, yet there she stood calmly. The eye of the storm, still and silent even in the midst of carnage.

She had more important things to worry about that some rocks or trees getting destroyed.

And so she started moving again, this time without the risk of tripping over anything as all the debris in her way seemed to be swept aside.

A part of her almost couldn't help but laugh at the irony. This power she was using, the one that _bastard_ gave her, was meant to be used as a weapon. Something to destroy whatever stood in the way of his interests or goals before he loaned her out to some Devil in the Underworld. And here she was, using it like glorified lawnmower and broom.

Though another part was finding it delicious that she'd be using this very power to _kill_ _him_.

' _One step at a time, Lucy. One step at a time._ '

Another sudden spasm of pain interrupted her thoughts, this time coming from her back. It almost felt like the muscles of her vertebral column were contracting and trying to _squeeze_ her spine into breaking. It hurt so badly that she almost blacked out right there, blackness flooding in from the fringes of her vision before she managed to force it back. ' _Not yet. Not YET!_ '

Taking a moment to regain herself, Lucy shut down her telekinetic arms and stood still for a moment, letting the pain take a moment to die down. It wasn't the first time a significant use of her powers caused her intense pain, nor would it likely be the last, but it wasn't going to kill her _yet_. Not while that bastard was still alive.

Ignoring the remnants of pain in her back, Lucy started walking again. She had come too far, survived too much to simply die here. She _refused_ to die when she was finally so close.

Fortunately, it seemed fate was smiling down upon her that day. Because just over a tall mound, she finally found the entrance to where she wanted to go.

It looked like a waterfall at first glance, beautiful and a nice bit of landscaping, but otherwise not much to be concerned with.

But what most people didn't know was that it was just camouflage for a hidden door. A secret entrance to a complex below ground. An entrance to a hell that she was about to descend back into.

A predatory smile came upon her face, slow and deadly as the coiling of a viper and just as venomous.

"I hope you're ready," she whispered, navigating around the area towards the waterfall itself in the distance. "Because I'm about to send you into the _real_ hell."

Step by step she travelled towards her destination, nothing but vengeance pushing her forward through the pain in her body and the throbbing in her own skull.

But it seemed her dear prey weren't willing to go down without a fight just yet, and as she took another step the ground seemed to shift and rumble around her. "What the hell?"

The area near the waterfall suddenly _changed_ , great openings in the earth formed like doorways or hidden entrances. The area around the waterfall had become a mess of holes and ruptures in the earth, trace amounts of dirt pouring down the sudden openings.

And then the Chimera's started pouring out, howling and crying and screaming in animalistic rage and malice. Flesh and fur and feathers and countless animal parts and traits crudely mashed together to form every one, the only similarity being that they all seemed to ripple with muscle.

And they were all moving straight towards _her_. ' _Oh, shit._ '

oOoOoOoOo Sirzechs Lucifer oOoOoOoOo

The Lucifer was silent.

Most people might not consider this such an oddity, considering the simple connection of being silent in the midst of work. It was a common and understandable thing, given that excess noise or activity obviously tended to interfere in one doing their job efficiently. Those who didn't know Sirzechs personally wouldn't consider it odd at all.

But, as described, that was only because they _didn't_ know him. Sirzechs was many things, but solemn in his own office? HA! He would've laughed at such a notion. Perhaps it was his friendship with Serafall that led to it, but he was very much a cheery and joking worker. Always ready with a quip or a joke for every form he needed to read and pass whenever his dear Grayfia managed to pull him into his office to do his paperwork.

It was a coping mechanism he'd long since developed to make the _dreadful_ boredom of paperwork less agonizing.

But this one paper in his hands, and the information it contained, managed to completely destroy his good cheer.

Something resembling a low growl formed in his throat. "The Old Satan Faction."

He knew better than to believe they'd simply disappeared, that they would simply vanish quietly into history, but that didn't mean he couldn't simply hope that they had just killed each other off to save everyone else the trouble. But it looked like they've been busy.

The notice informed him of an incident. A Devil, some prominent leader among the Extra Demon Clans, had apparently been conspiring with the Old Satan Faction and other groups in pursuit of some experiment. While the notes hadn't been analyzed in depth due to extensive coding, they were still able to analyze enough to get a rough picture.

He'd been trying to devise a means of defense against Holy powers and Light Spears. Sirzechs would have ordinarily been undisturbed by such a thing, considering just how common such attempts really were. It was only natural for Devils to try and find means of countering one of their natural weaknesses. No, his problems lay within the mans methods.

Live experimentation. _Unwilling_ , live experimentation.

Sirzechs was by no means a soft man, he understood that sacrifices often had to be made for significant gain. It was a lesson he'd learned a long time ago in the Underworld Civil War as he led people to battle and inevitable casualties. Sacrifices were a regrettable thing, often painful, but you can never attain something unless you're willing to put something on the line in pursuit of it. His soldiers knew that every time they marched into battle, that some of them would die, would _need_ to die for a new age to begin.

Yes, Sirzechs had made his fair share of sacrifices in the past. But he had _never_ forced them to do so against their will. That was a line that separated sacrifice from mere tyranny. A boundary he made sure to watch out for.

And this man crossed right over it. He'd thrown his own lot in with the Old Satan Faction some time ago and begun experimenting. The information they'd found indicated that he'd struck some kind of deal with someone in the Human world, outsourcing a request for aid in their endeavor. Some kind of bargain about giving him various DNA and physical samples of dangerous life forms. Either way, the man had gotten results and traded them, even providing a test subject that had already undergone the experimentation.

And then their test subject and supposed guinea pig had went berserk and escaped, its new powers apparently much stronger and more controlled than they had expected. Using its abilities to lay waste to her would be tormenters, she left a trail of corpses and destruction on her way out and was gone before anyone else had even arrived.

It was fortunate that the event had happened in some remote area of the Human world, otherwise they'd probably have a whole trail of innocent lives on their hands. Unfortunately, it also meant that she had escaped them now and they had no means of easily tracking her down. A bit of a mixed blessing, in some twisted way.

It was also fortunate that he'd had people watching the man in question. He preferred to be called _reasonably cautious_ instead of simply paranoid, but living through a civil war where almost literally _anyone_ could be an enemy tended to blur an individuals ability to tell the two apart. Still, paranoid or not, he made it a point to keep close eyes on potential problems. One such reason for him occasionally contacting rising stars of… _suspect_ character and intentions in Devil society.

' _What was that saying Humans had? Something about keeping your enemies closer?_ ' He could see the merit in such a philosophy, but he preferred a different version. Keep _potential_ enemies close, your friends closer, and your _genuine_ enemies in blasting range. In his own opinion (not to mention experience), keeping any potential enemies close was practically inviting a knife into your spine. He preferred his body free of _any_ sharp and pointy implements, thank you very much.

Putting the paper down with an exhausted sigh, Sirzechs rubbed his hands on his face as if to push away the mounting headache. He just _knew_ somehow that this situation wouldn't end well.

He'd seen people with rage like that before, many of them while he fought in the War, and they could be very dangerous when pursuing their vendettas. Completely consumed by wrath to the point where they saw nothing in front of them beyond the target of their ire. Letting someone like that run wild would _not_ bode well for diplomacy. They needed to catch her before she could cause some kind of incident while she was on her warpath.

His attempts to think up a solution were interrupted when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in."

The entrance to his office opened smoothly and without a sound, his dear wife walking in with a new paper in hand. She also seemed mildly agitated, though most would be hard pressed to even remotely notice. Sirzechs, on the other hand, had gotten _quite_ familiar with Grayfia's various tells over the years. "Found something?"

She nodded in affirmation. "We believe we've pieced together her destination."

And just like that, she had his full and undivided attention. Sitting straight up in his chair, the Crimson Satan prepped himself for whatever may come. "What can you tell me?"

Depositing the paper on his desk, Grayfia filled him in as he picked it up and started reading. "She was spotted in the middle of a small coastal town in Western Japan. One of our garrisons noticed the girl and found her appearance odd, but paid her no mind due to not being aware of the situation. They've only just reported in now."

Sirzechs was reading the report even as Grayfia spoke to him, his attention perfectly split. "Do they have any idea where she's going?" Knowing where she popped up was all well and good, but it didn't mean much if they didn't know where she was _now_.

He saw his wife nod at the edge of his vision. "Yes. They reported that she was following the coast and heading directly towards a larger city nearby. They noted that she seemed to be moving with purpose towards that singular destination."

' _Towards a city?_ ' he thought, his mind racing through the potential reasons.' _Could that be where she was captured?_ '

"There's more," she continued, regaining his attention. "While it's generally been ignored in favor of our own concerns, there have been numerous disappearances in that town over the past year. It also seems to have practically become a gathering area for many Stray Devils, as if they were drawn there in some manner. It's resulted in an increase in our patrols for the region. They could very well be connected."

Sirzechs was nodding at her words by the time she finished. It wasn't exactly a perfect conclusion, but it was still the best they had. "Which city is it?"

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

Vashyr snapped his head to the side again, dodging the flash of metal through the air _literally_ by the hair of his head. He sighed, more than a little annoyed at this whole scenario. "No, Karasuba. We're not having a rematch right here."

"Come _ON_ ," the crazy Knight pleaded, a tone in her voice that _almost_ sounded like a child that was denied a chance to play with her favorite toy. "These Stray's aren't any fun at all, they're dropping even faster than when I used to be Human. Can't we have some _fun_?"

"If you want fun, you can wait until you're at the manor to have some sparring. I'm sure you'll have plenty of fun with the rest of my Peerage. But for now, _I'm_ off the menu. Deal with it."

Seriously, this was starting to get more than a little ridiculous. Ever since Karasuba massacred the first group of Stray Devils, she'd apparently found it boring to paint the pavement with their blood and started attacking _him_! It was never really serious, not attacks meant to kill or cause serious injury and certainly not with enough intent to really harm him, but it was getting pretty annoying.

He felt oddly like an alligator or bear that was getting prodded by some redneck with a stick to see what happens. He always thought the videos of that stuff was just staged and that nobody could be stupid or reckless enough to try and do it for real, but he was starting to seriously reconsider that assumption. After all, if Karasuba was reckless enough to…

No, wait, that wasn't really a good comparison. Karasuba was _much_ more terrifying than some bear or alligator. She'd probably just poke them into fighting before shouting out "self-defense" and butchering the poor animal. Followed by making accessories out of their hides, teeth, and other assorted parts of their bodies.

Vashyr briefly had an imagine spot of what would happen if a couple of rednecks started trying to poke _her_ with a stick.

…..Okay, now _that_ was a very terrifying image. ' _That one's going into the vault._ '

"You're no fun," Karasuba muttered, kicking at the ground with her right foot and a pouting expression on her face. "I thought becoming your new Knight would mean good fights, but I haven't found _anything_ fun so far. How long until things get interesting? Hell, how long until I get myself a _rematch_ with you?"

He let out another sigh. ' _How many times have I sighed like that today? I think I've lost count._ ' He knew Karasuba would likely be pretty difficult to handle, it came with…..well, her being _her_. He supposed he should've just been glad that she didn't take after her Sekirei series counterpart even more, but she still wasn't exactly making things _easy_ for him.

"You can have a rematch when you're ready for it, no sooner."

Her rhythmic kicking of the ground stopped at that as she turned directly to face him. Her pout was now gone, replaced with a very carefully _empty_ look. Not hostile in any way, but still kinda creepy. And then it got worse when her empty look slowly transformed into a predatory smirk.

"Oh, I get it. You're scared of me, right?"

Vashyr almost made a move to deny it, but he quickly realized her little game and stopped. She was baiting him, he knew. Trying to rile him up and get him to pick the fight. Looks like she wanted to test if he was really still the stronger of the two.

Unfortunately for her, he was _still_ beyond her. She was faster now, stronger, far more potent than she ever used to be and she knew it. But he was _still_ stronger. That fight in the storm drains under the city wasn't just to recruit her, it as to test his own capabilities. He wanted to see how much his own physical attributes had improved from his fight with Sairaorg and he'd done so.

What she didn't seem to understand was that he wasn't really pushing his physical abilities to the upmost at the time. If he'd gone all out at the start, brought the full measure of his speed and strength against her from the start, she wouldn't have won even with all her natural speed.

Karasuba may have been amazingly fast for a Human, maybe even possessing speed that surpassed most Low-Class and Middle-Class Devils, or rivaled some of the average physically inclined High-Class Devils.

But he'd been training with _Sairaorg Bael_ for over half a year by now, someone who stood at the top of High-Class Devils even years before actual canon. The reason he'd been pushed back by her before wasn't because she was faster, it was because he had been _sloppy_. He hadn't taken her seriously from the start, allowing himself to be dragged into the rhythm she'd built up as the fight kept going and she'd gotten too close for him to use his Lance of Lightning at its optimum range. As much as he didn't like to admit it, she probably _would_ have beaten him if he hadn't decided to bring out his Lightning Armor to snap her out of her rhythm during that last attack of hers.

But this wasn't the same as back then. He knew how fast she was now, he knew not to underestimate her, and he was willing to go all out if she decided to throw down this time. Because for all her increase in ability, he was _still_ stronger than her. He was still _faster_ than her.

And most importantly, he could still _beat_ her.

Then, as if fate decided to reach down and make things interesting, a little something happened to interrupt him before he could make his point.

"Really?" He muttered, bringing his cell phone out of his pocket and snapping it open to check the caller ID.

 **(UNKNOWN CALLER)**

' _Unknown?_ ' That was a little surprising. He'd only given the number of his cell phone to his Peerage and certain servants of the Furtur Manor, people whose caller ID's he'd been sure to program into his phone in order to know who was calling.

So who could call him with an unknown caller ID?

Curiosity won out in the end, though, as he hit the button and brought the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Ah, Vashyr," a male and very _familiar_ voice intoned. "Good to know I could get through to you, I was worried I had the wrong number."

' _That's-_ '"Sirzechs?"

"Indeed," the voice answered, tone as casual as if they were discussing the weather. "Sorry to call you right now, especially since you're likely quite busy at the moment, but I'm afraid there's a situation I may need your help with right away."

"Situation." What kind of situation could he be in any place to help with right now? He wasn't even in the Underworld at the moment, he was in the Human world on his latest Peerage hunt. How could he help if he wasn't…..

"It's here, isn't it? In the Human world."

That was the only reason that made sense to him right now. Yes, there could've been factors or details he couldn't see right now, but all of his common sense was telling him it was the right conclusion. Sirzechs said he needed help, but why call _him_ if the problem was in the Underworld, where he had plenty more allies and subordinates that couldn't do the job in Vashyr's place? Possibly more effectively, in fact.

Because the situation wasn't in the _Underworld_ where they could be quickly brought to bear. It was taking place somewhere they couldn't quickly reach. Somewhere someone _else_ conveniently was that Sirzechs could call up.

The Lucifer's next choice of words simply cemented the theory.

"Quick on the uptake. I like that." Sirzechs sounded just as pleased as his choice of words implied. "I do so hate it when I need to explain something step by step, it's good to know I won't to go through a tedious explanation on the reason for why I contacted you in particular." He heard some slight rustling, perhaps Sirzechs momentarily shrugging his shoulders. "But we're getting off topic. Back to the issue at hand: there's a situation that's about to reach a climax nearby. I'm not entirely sure about the exact coordinates, but there should be quite a ruckus in the forested areas North-East of the city. I'll need you to check it out and clear up what's happening."

Vashyr started shaking his head before Sirzechs was even halfway done. "Hold on, what kind of situation are you even talking about? And how do you even know I'm _here_?"

"Sorry, no time to explain." Sirzechs quickly countered. "You'll need to hurry. Good luck."

"Wait a second-"

And the connection was cut off as Sirzechs hung up, nothing but silence on his end now. ' _What the hell…_ '

He was so caught in the moment that he almost flinched when Karasuba spoke up, her head tilted slightly to the side in curiosity. "What was _that_ all about?"

Vashyr couldn't, for the _life_ of himself, think up a good reply. He knew the DxD series wasn't exactly a conservative series when it came to strange surprises, but this was still kinda weird to him. Then again, maybe it was about time for a little oddness to finally go his way. Like some strange kind of karma.

Still, he recovered quickly from the surprise. Sirzechs' call was unexpected, but the Satan still called in a favor from him. And Vashyr was pretty damn sure that saying _no_ wasn't really an option when one of the four rulers of the Underworld asked for a favor.

He said the North-East area of the forest, but not really anything exact. That meant searching, which in turn would mean…

" _That_ , Karasuba, was a favor someone has just called in. And for _you_ , it's why I'm about to teach you how to fly."

The silver haired swordswoman's only physical reaction to the words was a single raised eyebrow, an expression that silently asked him 'really'. "Mention pixie dust and I swear I'll cut you to ribbons."

Vashyr just flashed her his usual roguish smile. If only it were that easy.

oOoOoOoOo Grigorio Iscamenty oOoOoOoOo

"Don't lose track of her," Grigorio ordered from his seat. "I want her every step and show of her powers to be thoroughly recorded and analyzed. We could gain invaluable research data for future test subjects."

The people around him quickly moved to carry out his orders: bringing up extra surveillance feeds, compiling information of her previously recorded use of her abilities, various defensive forces and scanning arrays brought against her as she moved further forward towards their position.

The Rogue Bishop allowed a slight smile to form on his face. _THIS_ was what he wanted in subordinates: obedient and efficient, the very picture of an ordered force with everything moving in place like a perfectly functioning series of gears. No, _BETTER_ , like all the cells and organisms working together in the greater whole of the body.

' _Why can't the rest of the world be so efficient?_ '

When word of Lucy's appearance reached him, he immediately set forth to give her a _proper_ welcome home. Heading to the control center of this particular base, he gave out instructions to follow and goals to plan for. Taking his own seat in the literal center of the room, he watched everything unfold exactly as he'd demanded.

After all, Lucy was returning after her brief hiatus from his lab. A greeting like this was only the polite thing to do for one of his _dear_ lab rats.

…. _Ugh_ , no, not lab rat. Test subject. Yes, that was a _much_ better term. He always rather disliked rats, such chaotic and _disgusting_ creatures.

' _Then again, I seem to hate a lot of things these days. Is that MY fault, I wonder?_ '

…No, of course not. It wasn't his own fault, it was the _worlds_ fault for simply not being efficient enough to avoid offending him in some manner.

"Bishop Grigorio!"

Stirred from his musings by the shout, the man in charge turned to the source of his shouted name. It was one of the observers monitoring Lucy's progress through the base. Seemed he found something. "What is it?"

The observer –Jason, he recalled- typed on his keyboard and brought up a display on the screen in front of him. It seemed like some biological scan of their current intruder. "I've been comparing some readings on her current physical status to older entries from before she left. There has been some significant changes in her bodily integrity. Our current readings show that, as surmised, prolonged and extensive use of her power causes her vital systems to break down and powerful seizure like spasms in her muscles." He enlarged the diagram he'd retrieved in order to better display it. "Our scanning equipment shows that her body has undergone _very_ extensive degradation. She's pushing herself to death."

Grigorio listened intently to the man's every word, absorbing the information with a long earned ease. The information was unsurprising on its own, they were well aware that extensive use of her power was dangerous for her body, it was simply the unfortunate result of her being a prototype. He was honestly surprised she had even lasted this long at all, given the strain she'd been put through.

His train of thought was diverted as another notification alarm started blaring in the control room, telling him that yet another wave of beasts had been released. "How far in is she?"

"She's just destroyed another wave, sir," came a quick and succinct reply. "She's only fought her way through the third now, hardly a problem given the sheer numbers, but it seems her vectors have gotten significantly stronger. She tearing apart whatever comes her way."

' _Stronger vectors? Well, how very enlightening._ '

The feed from the cameras backed up the mans words, showing her ripping through the many Chimeras they'd released with an almost contemptuous ease. Tearing apart limbs and eviscerating bodies as if they were being pulled through an invisible wheat thresher.

It was actually rather impressive, all things considered. Most people would likely find such an image (not to mention its implications) rather worrying.

Grigorio Iscamenty, Rogue Bishop of the Church, was most certainly _not_ like most people.

"Release all the remaining Chimeras and direct them toward the entrance, we'll overwhelm her with sheer numbers." he ordered, casting his eyes over the people in the room as he emphasized the order. "Let's give our dear Lucy a warm welcome with all of her old friends."

The people on the necessary control monitors immediately followed his order, releasing the numerous Chimera's that had been created through the experimentations of this very lab.

Chimera's rarely amounted to much, usually being used as cheap and expendable attack dogs for whomever happened to be holding their leashes. Still, they had their uses.

Such as cannon fodder to buy time, or easily disposable targets for live combat practice for other experiments. Lucy had killed quite a few of them herself during her time here. Of course, they'd never let loose the more dangerous ones, they wanted to make sure they were scaled to her potential ability in order to get the most data out of the fight. But that didn't matter too much right now, given she was likely just going to die anyway.

And if they managed to get some good data to use in creating a better replacement? Well, that was simply all the better. Innovations were rarely made without sacrifices, after all.

And Grigorio was _hardly_ a man that would balk at the thought of just a few sacrifices.

oOoOoOoOo Karasuba Asama oOoOoOoOo

Karasuba didn't like flying.

No, wait a second, that didn't quite have the emphasis she wanted.

 _KARASUBA! DIDN'T! LIKE!_ _ **FLYING!**_

It was something that needed, could _only_ be expressed, through putting emphasis and intent in every word. There was simply no other way to effectively portray it.

Oh sure, she thought it sounded awesome at first. The ability to zip around in the air, to dart so quickly from one fight to the next, to head from a newly made corpse to a new enemy to put down in a fight, it was one of those things that sounded so good on paper that you just couldn't think it would end badly.

But then you actually _got_ it and you realized that the reality of the whole thing wasn't very inclined towards living up to your idealized little fantasy.

Just like she was finding out with her _third_ near collision with the fucking ground!

"Having some trouble?"

Grimacing, she turned a heated glare to the side toward her new _master_ and tried to see if she could glare a hole through his smug, smiling face as he easily flew through the air. Hell, he was currently flying _on his_ back and with his arms folded behind his head like he was relaxing on the couch. She was pretty sure he was intentionally doing it to show off.

Seeing as he was undeterred by her glare, she tried putting on a mask of tranquil malice with an icy smile. "Not at all," she responded, her tone somehow saying "shut up or get cut" and "let's try and be friendly" at the same time. "I'm just having a little fun with my new wings. I've never really had a chance to fly before."

And it was really showing. Suddenly having the ability to sprout wings and fly apparently didn't mean you were automatically an expert at it. The same thing applied to her new speed, given how many collisions she'd experienced when actually _using_ her speed the first few times.

It was _really_ weird for her to not be able to follow her own movements very well. Was it like that for the people and Stray Devils she'd fought and killed as they tried to fend her off? Seeing her move so quickly that they usually lost track of her? Weird case of karma, right?

But Vashyr seemed unaware of the direction of her thoughts, simply nodding affirmatively at her. "I know what you mean. It's so much fun to mess with people by making them think you'll crash into a tree _right_ before you pull away."

The swordswoman nodded in turn, just deciding to go along. "Nice to know we're on the same page. I'd hate for you to think I was doing it by _accident_. Why, I might just have to kill you if you decided to spread that kind of slander around."

She watched him like a hawk as the words left her mouth, gauging his reaction to her rather _specific_ choice of words. Just because she'd agreed to serve this guy didn't mean she had to be complacent after all. She wasn't interested in serving _anyone_ unless they'd proved themselves to her, and this guy was no different.

He'd done a pretty damn good job so far, granted, but that didn't mean he was off the hook. Hell, beating her in a fight just meant he'd set the bar even _higher_ , it meant she had higher expectations for him than someone who'd just _talked_ her into siding with him. And if he couldn't match the standard he'd set….

Well, she'd just have to think of something, wouldn't she?

They were currently flying over a small mountain range North-East the town, with Vashyr heading in a straight line and scanning to the sides and ground below. If she was measuring the distance right, then they were almost an hour long drive away from the town right now. And they'd only been flying for maybe 5 minutes. Did he get instructions over his cellphone or something on where they were supposed to go?

"Looks like we're almost there."

Karasuba suppressed a relieved sigh. Finally, she could get her feet back on the ground where they belonged. She _really_ didn't want to try swinging her sword around in the air, she just knew that would be a recipe for disaster.

She had to admit, she was actually kinda curious about what they'd find. Vashyr just helped her summon her wings, gave her a crash course in flight, and told her to follow him along. She managed to ask him what the hell he was in a hurry for, but he just cryptically said "trouble" and didn't say anything else.

That was fine, though. Anything this guy called trouble would _definitely_ be fun.

' _So, who or what do I get to cut up?_ '

Her silent question was answered right as she flew over the top of the final mountain and spied the scene below.

Though really, _battleground_ would've been more accurate.

The trees that had otherwise covered the earth in a field of varying shades of green had all been torn down. Shredded and ripped apart like someone had taken a gigantic lawnmower to them and the wood and leaves and just been left where'd they'd been destroyed. Rocks were smashed to pebbles, dirt and soil churned up, turning the area into some kind or natural ground zero.

But that wasn't what got Karasuba's attention, oh no. Her attention was drawn to the _monsters_ she saw prowling along the ground.

There was so _many_ of them, more than she could even count and coming in all shapes and sizes, swarming over the ground almost like a flood of bestial bodies. Some of roughly human size, others bigger, and a few of them being outright _huge_ by most people's standards, standing over 15 feet tall. And it wasn't just their size that stood out, it was that they all seemed to be bizarre amalgamations of various other creatures.

Huge maws filled with varieties of fangs, massive claws, wings with strange feathers, sharp talons, long tentacles; it was like some biology nutjobs greatest wet dream come true. Hell, some of the configurations didn't even make any sense. She was pretty sure a shark wasn't supposed to have the forearms of a tiger and big feathery wings.

And it looked like they were all converging on something. Rushing and charging forward like a freakish tide. Straight towards some girl with long pink hair where they seemed to be torn apart by some invisible blender.

Whenever one of the creatures got close they ended up getting torn apart; limbs ripped away, heads crushed, chests caved in and bodies destroyed by some invisible force. There was countless corpses of the creatures below strewn all over the ground, shredded and reduced to barely recognizable pulp and smears with blood splashed onto the ground and soaking it into a dark mud.

' _This has got to be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.'_

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

' _Looks like I've found you._ '

Vashyr had to admit, he really didn't know what to expect when Sirzechs had suddenly called him up and essentially gave him some kind of assignment. It would've been better if Sirzechs could've at least given him some more details on what exactly he'd wanted, though.

But what Vashyr was most concerned about was how Sirzechs had gotten in contact with him at _all_. He was pretty sure he hadn't told the Lucifer about the number for his current cell phone, in fact he was sure of it. The fact that Sirzechs had still contacted him was…well, it raised a question with more than a few implications.

But that was a concern for another day, he had more important concerns right now. Like destroying all those Chimera's down below and finding out just what the _hell_ was going on right here.

Also, he'd like to find out why the _hell_ he was finding so many other anime characters in this world. Was this some kind of alternate Highschool DxD? Was there something up with the Dimensional Gap? Either way, it was getting a little weird.

Fortunately, before his thoughts could wander any further down that particular road, the sensation of overwhelming bloodlust rolling off his newest Knight managed to snap him out of it.

' _Oh,_ ' he thought sardonically, ' _right, I almost forgot about my newest psycho._ '

Honestly, it looked like Karasuba found the scene below to be almost _arousing_ somehow; she was breathing in quick gasps and her face was rather flushed. If nothing else, he could be sure that she was very excited. Unfortunately….

"Karasuba, you're not going down there."

Her head riveted to face him in as much time it would take to blink, her expression wide-eyed at what he'd just said. She asked him, her voice dangerously flat and mild, "What?"

"I said you're not going down there," he clarified. "Not yet, at least. I don't want you killing the one we've come for by accident."

He wasn't lying, it really _would_ be a pain if Karasuba _accidentally_ killed the pink haired girl massacring her way through those Chimera's down there. Sirzechs had given him a mission after all.

Granted, that wasn't his _only_ reason for having her stay back. In fact, his primary reason was actually a bit more for his own benefit than for the sake of the mission or the girl below.

Frankly, it was to show her who was in charge. Karasuba had shown herself to not like being under his authority, regardless of her subordinate position in his Peerage, and made it quite clear she wanted to fight him again. Maybe it was because she hated taking orders, maybe she wanted to see how much better she'd gotten after becoming a Devil, maybe she was just playing with him, but it had to stop.

And he knew just how to do it; a clear show of strength.

oOoOoOoOo Lucy oOoOoOoOo

' _There's no END to these things!_ '

It didn't seem to matter how many of Chimera's she killed as they rushed her, there was always more. Killing one just created an opening for another three to take its place and keep pushing against her. She'd killed so many that there was a field of torn up corpses around her like a field of shredded flesh and broken bone, caked with fresh and coagulated blood alike.

And as much as she wanted to deny it, the fight was taking its toll on her. She could feel herself slowing down, sense her own fatigue from overusing her vectors so much to kill them all. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up, but if something didn't happen soon then she'd be dead- _**BOOOOM!**_

The ground and air shook from the explosion, a blinding flash of light from the epicenter of the blast as the scent of scorched earth and burnt flesh wafted on the wind. ' _What the HELL was that!?_ '

The Chimera's seemed just as surprised as her, their offensive stopping in its tracks as they regained their bearing, some of them even turning towards the source of the noise to see what had happened in the confusion. Lucy herself even managed to sneak a look.

It was a big crater, easily twenty feet across with the dirt blackened and smoke rising up. It took her only a moments notice to realize something else about it, something more than a little alarming. There weren't any corpses in the blast zone, even though it must've been packed tightly with Chimera's. Was the heat of the explosion so hot that they just disintegrated?

She didn't have much time to think it over, unfortunately, because then more explosions started happening all around the battlefield. Whole swathes of Chimeras being consumed in explosions of heat and light, chaos erupting as they died in numbers ranging from 20 to 30 at a time.

It didn't take long before they completely forgot about her and tried to retreat, breaking off and trying to hide from whatever was so viciously cutting down their numbers. It might've been fun to watch if she hadn't noticed something unusual about the situation.

 _Where_ the hell were the explosions coming from?

She got at least the beginning of the answer for the question a moment after the thought had crossed her mind. She wasn't entirely sure _what_ she had seen, it had simply moved too fast for a good look, but there was some bright streak flying downward through the air and towards the earth. A bright streak that ended in yet another explosion.

' _From above?_ '

Looking towards the sky, she put her eyes to work to try and find whatever was causing all the chaos. Even as she made sure her Vectors crushed and incoming Chimera to a fleshy pulp. She wasn't about to get caught by surprise while looking up into the air, that'd just be fucking stupid.

' _There!_ '

It was two people high up in the air, at least several hundred feet. Lucy was pretty sure she wouldn't have been able to see them normally, but the fact that the two people were surrounded by lights floating in the air around them to act as some kind of contrast.

And even as she spied them, Lucy saw the lights around them fall to the earth and release great bursts of heat, light, and _sound_. Each blast annihilating more of the surrounding creatures even as the shining constructs seemed to replenish around the two people in midair.

And more destruction rained down around her every moment, butchering the beasts that had been attacking her, cutting swathes of devastation across the field of battle. The numbers of the Chimera had dropped dramatically since the rain of light had started.

Most importantly, it had given her an opening.

' _Now's my chance!_ '

She started running before the thought had even fully formed in her mind, heading straight towards one of the openings that the Chimeras had flooded out of to attack her. Part of her was almost grateful for it, since it meant she had a much closer entrance she could use.

Running into the dark tunnel leading beneath the earth, it almost felt like she was descending to hell.

oOoOoOoOo Shirone oOoOoOoOo

Shirone honestly wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to living in such a big house.

Really, it was _huge_. So much bigger than the hut she and her big sis lived in before they came here. It had so many huge hallways, so many rooms, so many doors and windows and….. _everything_. She couldn't even count them all. That wasn't even including the places outside or the…what did the people here call them? Wings? Why did they call them wings?

But what she loved most of all was that it had so many places to _hide_. There was so many nooks and crannies for her hide in while playing hide and seek with Aria, so many places where she could lie in wait to sneak up on her big sis, so many extra rooms to hide in after she pulled some kind of prank and needed to lay low. It was _great_!

On the other hand, it made it _really_ hard to actually be the seeker in the game of hide and seek. It was fun picking a spot to hide from Aria when _she_ was seeking, but it was much less fun for Shirone when she wasn't the one actually _hiding_.

She pouted slightly, kicking her foot on the ground in frustration. "Where'd she go?"

There most recent game of hide and seek had started almost half an hour ago, their roles in the game decided after a quick game of Rock-Paper-Scissors with Shirone getting the losing hand. That'd normally be enough time in a reasonably sized area, but in a place like Vashyr's Manor? It was almost impossible to find someone when they were hiding. It barely counted as hide and seek at all if they couldn't find the one hiding.

But, knowing that standing around here getting angry wouldn't help find Aria, the little Nekoshou took a deep breath before letting it out and continuing her search. Rushing down the halls, she'd just turned a corner when her pace caused her to bump right into someone and end up with her rear on the ground from the collision.

Hearing a brief gasp from the person she'd just ran into, Shirone looked up and recognized who she'd impacted.

It was Yuria, one of Mr. Vashyr's Peerage members. Her dark hair held in its usual bun shaped style and dressed in her maid uniform. It looked like she was just finished with putting her clothes through the washing machine. Probably her own, since there was quite a few maid uniforms similar to the one she was currently wearing.

And Shirone's collision with her had caused quite a few of those clothes to scatter on the ground around her, meaning Yuria was now rather frantically picking them up.

"I'm really sorry" she mewled out, sorry and embarrassed at her mistake as she rose from the ground. "I was running and didn't see you."

She expected to be scolded for her carelessness, but no harsh words came, no reprimanding. She just looked her way for a moment and gave her a brief nod before continuing to gather up the clothes strewn about on the floor. But otherwise she seemed to ignore her entirely.

Feeling a little uncomfortable at the awkward silence, Shirone moved to help her pick everything up, handing the clothes to her even as the older woman quickly folded everything with what seemed like a practiced ease.

When everything was finally picked up, Yuria turned toward her and gave another nod, this time with a small flicker of appreciation in her eyes. "Thank you."

Slightly surprised that the woman finally spoke to her, Shirone covered it up with a smile as she stared up at her. "You're welcome. It's my fault, so I _should've_ stayed to help." After all, that was how her big sis had raised her.

Unfortunately, Yuria didn't really seem to have much time to talk at the moment. Before Shirone was even finished speaking, she already started walking past her with a brisk stride and even steps. Shirone was a little sad about that, it honestly seemed as if the woman didn't like to talk to her.

Come to think of it, Yuria didn't really seem to like talking to _anyone_ here. It wasn't the first time Shirone noticed her seeming to brush people off to leave and go….well, just anywhere else in general.

But it was more than that, Shirone could tell. She might not have been as good with Sage Arts as her big sis, but she could still read people's emotions, if only slightly. She could read big sis's mischievous moments, Rita's cheer, Aria's happiness, and everything else. But Yuria….Yuria didn't feel like any of those.

She just seemed to feel so _lonely_. So sad and _scared_ of something. Shirone didn't like feeling that from anybody, she didn't like _seeing_ people feeling so bad, but there never seemed to be anything she could do about it.

….Then again, maybe she should start trying.

oOoOoOoOo Yuria Alphas oOoOoOoOo

Barely paying attention to where she was even going, Yuria moved through the halls with a quick stride that almost verged on urgent. She had just finished her laundry and wanted nothing more than to get back to her room and spend the rest of her day in nothing but silence.

She was never a very social person, but right now she honestly wanted nothing more than to stay in her room away from the _insanity_ of everyone else. Because insanity was the only word she could think of that would really apply to everyone in the Manor now.

What else could it be? What other explanation could exist for how everyone seemed to be so _accepting_ of what little game Vashyron was playing with them? She could somewhat understand Mitsume and Adriana not seeing what was coming, they were still new here, but _Rita_ and the staff of the Manor itself? How could they _possibly_ be fooled by this most recent act and pretense of kindness? Rita in particular had…. _experienced_ more than her fair share of Vashyron's attention, and now the young woman was practically eating out of her tormentors own hand!

That actually hurt a little: knowing that one of the only people in the Manor that understood her pain had seemed to leave her behind and insist on pretending things were changing. How could she be deluding herself like that? _HOW!?_

And then there were the newest additions to Vashyron's Peerage, particularly the Nekoshou who seemed so taken with him that she went to bed with him. And she didn't seem to realize just how much she was going to _suffer_. Not to mention what her little sister would likely be going through.

She had long been accustomed to seeing the suffering of the other inhabitants of the gilded cage, but the thought of that little girl suffering under Vashyron's _mercies_ honestly left a sick feeling in her gut.

' _She shouldn't be here._ '

None of them should be here at all, granted, but a little girl like that was _especially_ the case. Yuria had plenty of first-hand experience regarding what occurred in this Manor, and the thought of a _child_ like that undergoing it made her skin crawl. Vashyron was never one to hold compunctions regarding the age of a potential test subject.

But that's not what was setting her on edge, what was making her practically jump at shadows and sudden gusts of wind. No, what got under her skin so deeply was that Vashyron was taking so much _time_ before he stopped the act and showed his true colors.

It was a game she'd seen him play so many times by now: Feigning care and understanding or some time to get his soon-to-be victim to lower their guard, make them relax and think everything would be fine, only to _rip_ everything appeared as his true nature reared its head and tore everything apart, savoring the shock and betrayal of his erstwhile victim.

He had done it to Rita, he had done it to many of his own staff….and he'd done it to _her_.

' _Frederic…._ '

She felt the tears forming in the corner of her eyes at the memory of who she'd lost. Followed by the dawning horror and disgust at remembering _exactly_ what had happened to her and the man she'd loved.

She had honestly never felt so disgusted and defiled, and nothing had ever approached it ever since. She still had night terrors about it, remembering what had happened.

' _Monster. He's a MONSTER! WHY CAN'T ANYONE ELSE STILL SEE THAT!?_ _ **WHY**_ **!?** _'_

Her body shivered, horror filling her mind as a chill crawled down her spine and she was _THERE_ again! In that dark room, chains coming down from the ceiling to hold her up, Vashyron prowling around her like a ravenous monster, and Frederic…Frederic…..

"Are you okay?"

oOoOoOoOo Shirone oOoOoOoOo

Shirone flinched back slightly as the woman responded to her question, suddenly turning around with a violent jerk and with an expression on her face that resembled a combination of wide-eyed shock and horror.

Her Sage Arts sense might not be perfected, but it was still _more_ than enough to read the woman's emotional state. To know how distraught she was, how scared desperate and feeling so _alone_.

The little Nekoshou took a tentative step back as the woman just _stared_ at her with that almost mad look in her wide eyes, felt her emotional turmoil as her mind seemed to take her somewhere far away from where she was right now.

But after a moment of tense silence, Yuria slowly began to calm down. Her expression became less panicked, her posture a little less rigid, and she didn't look like she was about to bolt out of the room like a cat that just had its tail stepped on.

That wasn't to say she was entirely relaxed, she still seemed rather tense in fact, but at least she wasn't looking like she was in the middle of some kind of panic attack. What could have gotten her so wound up?

Shirone quirked her head slightly, looking at the older woman and said "Is something wrong?"

Yuria didn't answer her right away, simply taking a moment to regain herself after her bout of shock. Shirone honestly didn't know why she was acting like this, but she could still tell that the woman was….scared. Terrified, in fact. What in the world could've left her so frightened?

It was also very unpleasant to the little Nekoshou due to her Sage Arts. She certainly wasn't as skilled as her big sis yet, not by a long shot, but she was able to pick up strong surface emotions from the people around her.

And she could feel strong emotions rolling off of Yuria in _waves_. Fear, resentment, anger, frustration, all of it. But the most powerful emotion Shirone could feel was that the poor woman felt so _alone_ somehow. She felt it so keenly that Shirone sometimes wanted to cry for her.

But Shirone's train of thought was interrupted as Yuria suddenly made a noise. It was so unexpected that the little Nekoshou almost didn't recognize it, not helped at all by the fact that she'd never heard it from Yuria before.

Laughter, and not the happy kind at all. It was bitter, rough, and actually sounded _pained_ somehow. Tears were even forming in her eyes with every gasp of air that tore from her throat, revealing a pain inside that Shirone had only glimpsed at before, now revealed bare for her Sage Arts to see.

It was a distinctly uncomfortable experience.

"Wrong?" the woman choked out, her tone rough and raw from her broken laughter and carrying a hint of… _something_ that Shirone was sure couldn't be further from friendly. "Is something wrong? Are you really _asking ME_ _ **THAT!?**_ "

Shirone recoiled back from the force of the shout like it was a physical blow, Yuria slowly walking toward her with an almost manic look in her eyes, even as tears continued to fall.

"What is _WRONG_ with all of you?! Can't you all see this is just some act? Just a trick? This isn't even the first time he's done it!"

Shirone backed away, whimpering slightly, trying to put some distance between her and the increasingly hysterical woman, not even realizing she was running out of room until she felt her back hit the wall.

And Yuria still advanced, walking toward her with an angry prowl, stopping only when she was right in front of her and looking down. "Do you have even the slightest idea what he's done to me?" Her voice was almost disturbingly mild and calm, bringing to mind the image of the quiet before a storm.

It was _terrifying_ to hear someone talk like that, even for regular people, but it was so much worse when you could sense someone's emotions. When you could read their anger and desperation like a book. When you could _feel_ the barely contained hysteria and that little tinge of malice.

Shirone could honestly say that she'd never felt as scared as she did right now.

"How long do you think it'll be until you go through the same? Until you and your sister suffer because of him just like _I_ did? How long until you're so desperate for it to end that you'd-"

"That's enough."

oOoOoOoOo Kuroka oOoOoOoOo

There weren't many things that could get Kuroka genuinely angry. Oh, there were times when she had gotten annoyed or something got under her skin in some way, but well and truly angry? _That_ was a much rarer occurrence, something she actually had a fair bit of pride for.

Kuroka wasn't really what one might call stoic by any means, she wore her emotions on her sleeve and she was all but proud of it. You weren't living if you weren't really showing what you felt to the world, if you never allowed yourself to feel excitement or joy. Likewise, bottling up something like frustration or anger just wasn't healthy, letting it fester until it violently exploded.

No, Kuroka wasn't someone to hide how she felt, but it was rare that she'd ever felt _real_ anger over something. But that should never be taken as a sign that she didn't have a temper that could be stressed. That she didn't have her own buttons that people should stay the hell away from.

Unfortunately for Yuria, she had almost _stepped_ on one of those buttons. _HARD!_

A certain silver haired little button that was backed up against the wall, shaking like a leaf and looking all but terrified even as her face and posture relaxed slightly at the sound of her big sisters voice.

Doing her _very_ best to keep a calm tone, she looked the senior maid and Pawn in the eye, cold and unflinching. "Back. Away. _Now_."

Neither of them moved for a while, just standing in place and staring daggers at one another; Yuria's eyes an image of searing hate and disgust, Kuroka's own an image of icy fury.

But fire can only burn for so long in the cold, and the heat in Yuria's eyes slowly seemed to fade, the heated rage cooling and leaving a broken woman.

She backed away from Shirone soon after, looking down at the ground to avoid looking the elder Nekoshou in the eye again. Kuroka's little sister wasted no time in exploiting the opening, bolting towards her sister like a frightened kitten and grasping onto her.

Felling her little sister's shaking arms wrap around her waist, Kuroka brought a hand to her head and pet her scalp, feeling her calm down. As if through some link, feeling her little Shirone calm down at her touch seemed to help Kuroka calm down as well.

But not enough for Kuroka to leave without a parting word.

"If you ever think of hurting my sister again, Vashyr's mercy won't be enough to protect you from me."

Turning around, Kuroka walked straight through the door with her sister still holding tight. Closing the door behind her, she considered the matter settled.

But as she closed the door, she couldn't help but hear Yuria's whispers as she left.

"Mercy?" She heard, the word sounding disbelieving. "How can you believe that _monster_ has any mercy? What is _WRONG_ with all of you?"

With a sigh of resignation as the door closed shut, Kuroka turned away and escorted Shirone off. The poor thing had stopped shaking, but Kuroka could still feel the tension in her little sister. The poor girl was terrified after that scene with the woman.

Kuroka couldn't really blame her. Shirone's Sage Arts might not be as potent as her own, but Yuria was leaking off enough hostility for a _vegetable_ to know how angry she was. Kuroka was pretty sure the crazy woman was about to actually _attack_ her little sister.

It was a good thing Kuroka had arrived when she did, because she _really_ didn't want to think about what she would've done if Shirone had been hurt.

That train of thought was interrupted when Shirone reached up to tug slightly at her sleeve. "What is it?"

Her little sister opened her mouth for a moment, then shut it. Pondering over the right words to use, she was silent for a few seconds before looking up and speaking. "Why is she so angry?"

….Oh. Well, _that_ was a loaded question to ask. How could she really explain it in a way Shirone could understand? How could she really tell her that Yuria was angry with _Vashyron_ and not the Vashyr who had been so kind? How could she really try to explain what Yuria must have gone through?

Her little sister was still so _young_ , young enough that Kuroka wanted her to be kept far away from the darker and uglier things in the world.

It wasn't helped by the fact that such an explanation would all but _require_ her to reveal the truth of Vashyr's origins to her. Shirone was a smart little girl, but children her age tended to be rather bad at keeping secrets.

And Vashyr's true nature was a very _dangerous_ secret, all things considered.

Continuing to pet her little Shirone's head as they walked along, Kuroka searched for the right words to use.

It was at times like this that Kuroka missed their mother the most. She was always so patient, so knowledgeable, always seemed to know exactly what to say to get her point across gently. It was too bad Kuroka hadn't quite inherited that trait.

With no perfect words to portray her meaning, Kuroka sighed in resignation and decided on the direct approach. "It's…..complicated, little sis."

Unfortunately, even the blunt approach she so favored wasn't always an effective one. The questioning look in Shirone's eyes also made it clear she wasn't about to let it go.

"Why? Did Vashyr and Yuria get into a fight? Why is she so mad at him?"

Kuroka stopped with a light-hearted sigh, getting down on one knee and wrapping her arms around her little sister even as she tried to wriggle out of her grasp. "You're so cute when you ask questions like that, Shirone."

Her little sister tried to escape her grasp, but to no avail. Kuroka had a talent for never letting go of something she was attached to, and she was _certainly_ attached to her dear little sister. And who could blame her? She was just _so_ adorable.

Shirone's struggling eventually died down and she relaxed, leaning into her older sister's embrace. She'd calmed down now, reminded that she was safe in the hall with her dear sister, the one family member she had left. The one who would _never_ leave her.

Repositioning her arms so her hands cupped her little Shirone's face, Kuroka aligned her eyes to her own and gently spoke. "Listen Shirone; I want to tell you – _really_ I do-, but it's not something simple or easy to explain. I hate needing to keep anything from you, believe me, but this isn't something we can really discuss right now. You'll just need to wait."

Angling her little sister's face slightly downward, Kuroka place a kiss on her little forehead. A sign of affection she'd developed some time ago. "Can you do that for me, Shirone?"

She didn't answer her with words, letting silence fall for a moment before responding with a slow nod. "Okay, I promise."

Kuroka smiled sweetly at her, "Thank you, Shirone." Rising up from her knees, she continued her trek down the halls with her little sister in tow. "Now, why don't we get something to eat? I'm pretty sure Mitsume said something about baking some traditional Japanese sweets."

The elder sister _almost_ managed to hold back her chuckle as Shirone suddenly sped up, pulling her along like an excited puppy on a very short leash. Honestly, sometimes the little one was just too cute.

 **xXx**

 _WHEW!_ That was a LONG one. Definitely my longest chapter yet, right. Unfortunately, it also happens to be the one that's _taken_ me the longest. Sorry about that. I don't want to make it sound like I'm making excuses, but let's just say that real life hasn't exactly been very conductive for me recently, though that seems to be turning around. Trying to find a part time job and help my mom deal with some of her own issues can be a little draining. I also might be getting a part time job at some point _and_ I'll be going into my next semester of Electrician Training on August 15th, so that might also slow down my update speed. But rest assured, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am _NOT_ gonna discontinue any of my fics. There are _FAR_ too many of those on the internet and I _WON'T_ contribute to that. So all you readers out there, don't consider one of my fics discontinued just because of a hiatus, okay? Hell, my breaks are smaller than quite a few I know. I remember one Naruto fic called Team 8 where the writer sometimes took the better part of a year to churn out a chapter. Granted, they're pretty big chapters, but my point stands.

As for the chapter, it looks like you've finally got a better look at Yuria. I know that at least a few of you wanted to see inside her head and I can understand why, but the I wanted to save the actual details for a revelation to Vashyr's own face in a way that would also have shock to the readers themselves. Make no mistake, out of _everyone_ in Vashyr's Peerage, Yuria got the _WORST_ of Vashyron's treatment. Yes, even worse than Rita. You'll get the details in a few chapters, but for now you'll have to make due with knowing that what happened to her is _NOT_ pretty.

Another thing I wanted to clear up in this chapter is how Karasuba actually got so close to beating Vashyr in the last chapter. When it comes to physical ability, Karasuba possessed natural _speed_ that rivaled that of the _average_ High-Class Devil. But speed alone wasn't what allowed her to almost beat him, in fact Vashyr's own speed significantly trumped hers, it was that Vashyr 1) Wasn't actually trying to kill her 2) Somewhat underestimated her, and 3) He let _her_ take charge of the fight. Strength and speed aren't everything in a fight, initiative and the ability to trap an enemy into your own rhythm can let you beat them, and _that's_ how Karasuba almost beat him. If Vashyr had used all of his speed from the start and gone all out, Karasuba would've been a smear on the ground. After all, he _has_ been training with Sairaorg for roughly half a year by now, and I'm pretty sure we all know that Sairaorg is _not_ an average High-Class Devil by any means.

Lastly, there _is_ a reason for why Sirzechs was able to call Vashyr and it's actually a lead in for something that'll be revealed in more depth in the next chapter.

Anyway, I'm gonna write up the next chapter for World of Remnant: Online next, so look forward to it.

P.S. Please inform me if you find any typo's, I appreciate it.

Review and have a nice day!


	13. Off The Beaten Path

Chapter 13

 **Off The Beaten Path**

xXx

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

Vashyr and Karasuba descended to the ground, the mingling stenches of the bodies charred by his lightning lances and the coppery tinge of blood wafting around them. He recoiled slightly from it, his nose twitching slightly at the odor. He'd caught the charred scent before but it had never been anywhere near overpowering as this.

Karasuba, for her own part, seemed completely unaffected by the smell as she darted around in search of survivors to put down. At least that's what he _assumed_ she was doing, but considering her personality he'd be surprised if he was wrong. Probably not helped by the fact that she likely had a massive case of blue-balls after this.

…..Wait, that didn't sound quite right. Blue-balls was supposed to be a _guy_ thing. What would the equivalent term for a girl? Actually, what would be the best term for _Karasuba_?

That line of thinking was compounded as he observed her dart around, checking the corpses for even an errant twitch to signify life. Her speed actually made the process a bit more difficult, considering she hadn't gotten used to it yet. She tripped almost constantly over the masses of corpses, misplaced earth, blown body parts and rims of recently made craters. What should've taken moments seemed to take her more than a few minutes.

Finally she stopped, frozen in place with her hand clenching her sword so hard that it moved with every twitch of her hand, her palm blue from what must've been an _agonizingly_ tight grip.

'… _Hold on. Blue-palm?'_

Karasuba turned to him right as he thought the word, almost looking on the verge of tears with a downright _pained_ look on her face at the carnage she didn't have the chance to participate in, her cheeks seeming red from a built up tension she never had the chance to relieve. When she spoke next, it came out as a pitiful _whimper so sad and disappointed that he almost felt sorry for her_. "You're pure evil."

' _Oh yeah, definitely blue-palm.'_

Still, funny as it was to see her like this, he needed to keep her focused. Especially since there was still more to do and there was no telling what could be waiting ahead. For all he knew these Chimera's could've been disposable cannon fodder and there was much worse waiting. Fortunately, he knew exactly how to get her focused again.

"You _do_ know that there's bound to be much more where we're going, right?"

The minute shakes of her sword hand stopped, her sword immediately stilling as the expression on her face shifted almost instantly to one of expectation. "What?"

"Do you really think the people who sent these things out would've sent their heavy hitters in the first wave? No way are we that lucky, these things were just to tire us out." He turned to one of the tunnels that a small portion of the flood of Chimera's had emerged from, hands in his pockets as he approached it. "There's bound to be more dangerous things inside, so let's head down and-"

He wasn't even able to finish before Karasuba rushed past him at the speed of thought, releasing a keening howl for blood as she immediately descended into the maw in the earth.

He suppressed a sigh. ' _What the hell am I gonna do if she kills the person we're here for?'_

oOoOoOoOo Lucy oOoOoOoOo

Cold stone, empty hallways, the scuttling of footsteps.

The sound of ripping flesh as her vectors shredded yet another Chimera to ribbons, the unfortunate creature not even having time to yelp or howl before it was dead and reduced to bloody strips of meat.

Anyone else would consider it impressive, terrifying even, but to Lucy the display was merely a sign of her own increasing weakness.

She wouldn't survive the day. She _knew_ she wouldn't survive the day.

Her vectors were so sluggish now, seeming heavy despite being nothing more than weightless constructs born of her own power. They'd been getting slower all day, gradually becoming harder and harder to move at all. It was inevitable, but at least manageable. But then all those Chimeras appeared and she had to use them so much, now using them was getting so difficult. If this continued then she'd…

No! No, she couldn't think like that. Not now, not when she was so _close_. That bastard was here, she could fucking _feel_ it in her bones, and she wouldn't stop until he was paste on the floor and walls. Even if it killed her.

Then again, considering her current state, she obviously wouldn't survive it anyway. Not at the rate her body was breaking down. That exertion outside had probably shaved even more time off the time she had left.

…Worth it.

And if nothing else, she still had that trump card left if all else failed. And she'd bring this whole mountain down on everyone's heads.

oOoOoOoOo Karasuba Asama oOoOoOoOo

A shining arc cut through the air, bringing yet another Chimera to a quick and bloody death as its head suddenly hit the floor. Its several companions quickly followed suit, attempting to charge at her only to die before they even stepped forward. Such was her new speed that none of these creatures could even get in a single attack before the quick skirmish was over.

Unfortunately, now that the initial rush was over, Karasuba was starting to get bored. Sure, slaughtering dozens of these things was a great warm-up, but as an only option? Yeah, they quickly got repetitive and boring. Where the hell were the _challenging_ fights down here? Didn't Sparky say something about there being _stronger_ enemies further in?

' _Wait a sec, HE DIDN'T JUST MAKE THAT UP TO SEND ME IN, DID HE?_ '

…..Oh, if that were true than he was the _worst_ kind of jackass. Getting a girl all excited only to leave them hanging like this was all kinds of cruel.

But she was a generous young woman, just like her parents taught her to be, so she'd give this a little more time before she rushed right back to find him and give him a piece of her sword.

Another five minutes should be fair, right?

Running further into the passages of this hidden underground lair (seriously, why is it _always_ an underground lair?) in search of greater prey.

It didn't take her long to find some more Chimera's, but they died quickly like all the rest. All it took was a few cuts and they went down. On a slightly more positive note she seemed to have cut a major artery in one of them, resulting in a sudden gush of blood that coated some of the wall.

Unfortunately it wasn't even close to enough to get her excited. If anything she was winding _down_ now.

' _Four minutes left. Something better happen soon._ '

She turned away, ready to head off in another direction to add to her kill count, before stopping as she heard a strange noise.

It was vaguely similar to….clanging? Scraping? No, more like both together. Turning around she noticed it was coming from where she'd just killed the Chimera's.

Behind the wall? But how would…wait a sec.

Walking closer to the wall the sound was coming from, she took a quick look at the metal beneath the covering of fresh blood. It was hard to make out, but she thought she could see thin lines set in it. Was it like some kind of door-

 _ **BANG!**_

She immediately leapt away and to the side, the _possible_ door being revealed as an _actual_ door as it was sent flying from its position by some great force and slammed against the wall in a great _**CLANG**_ that was probably echoing throughout the halls of the rest of the base.

' _The hell just-'_

She didn't even have time to finish that half formed question before she got her answer, a fucking claw bigger than her own body grasping over the left edge of the suddenly made entrance, red and scaly.

She could only watch in rapt fascination as the creature fully exited whatever room it was contained in, occasionally needing to shift to get its bulk through the doorway.

It was…she wasn't even entirely sure what it was. It could've been another Chimera, but whatever its creators had done to it they'd obviously put this one a few steps ahead of the others. The typical Chimera was an obvious mish-mash of various creatures, multiple traits and features merged together into a crude facsimile of a lifeform that could obviously never exist naturally.

Hell, just in her way here she'd seen a Chimera that was part lizard, goat, lion, and even _shark_! How the hell could different biological systems like that even _get_ together, much less function?

But that didn't fit with this creature her, it was more streamlined that any Chimera she'd even seen before. It was predominantly reptilian, covered all over in a layer of thick scales of deep crimson. It also showed what appeared to be a large muzzle, slightly flattened, like the one you'd find on a crocodile. And its muscles seemed to move with a fluidity that reminded her of a snake of some kind. All of the different aspects seemed to _work_.

Then the creature turned toward her, its eye a yellow and malicious slit as it honed in on her with a predatory glare.

Then before she knew what happened, it was on her.

Moving with a speed and awareness that _far_ surpassed any Chimera she'd encountered up to that point, its claws met her blade in a clash that physically _forced_ her back and skidding along the ground by her feet. If she'd been any slower, any less skilled, that clash may have very well ended with her body in two pieces.

But she was alive. She could still fight. And from the looks of it, this thing was _dangerous_.

It was also quite displeased that she wasn't dead yet, if the narrowing of its eyes was any indication. Its body tensed up as it observed her, a visible and predatory intelligence shining in its yellow orbs.

It was fast. It was strong. And it could _think_!

Karasuba vaguely felt her body start to shudder. And it wasn't at all from fear.

' _Where has something like this BEEN all my life?_ '

"I don't suppose you could give me a name?"

The only response was a predatory growl rumbling from its throat. Oh well, she tried.

Feeling the manic grin on her face, she took the offensive as her blood started singing in her veins again. A piercing cry came keening from deep within her chest as she rushed forward, calling out in challenge.

The creature responded with a roar, accepting her call for battle.

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

Vashyr Furtur looked at the Chimera corpses strewn about in the hallway, their scorch marks still present from the quick bolts of lightning he used to kill them.

' _What the hell have they been doing here?'_

The obvious answer would've been just making Chimeras, but that struck him as a bit too straightforward. He wasn't exactly an expert, but Vashyron's own research told that Chimeras were a known and easily made resource, not to mention rarely all that impressive for all their intimidating appearances. The average Low-Class Devil could beat one with little trouble, so even making them in large amounts would, at best, just mean a sudden influx of cannon fodder to any conflict they were involved in.

That meant there had to be a bigger reason for it hidden away here. And whatever it was, it happened to be involved with the girl that Sirzechs wanted him to find.

He sighed. "Just what the hell did Sirzechs go and push me into here?"

It also didn't help that he was going into _completely_ unfamiliar territory. It didn't help that his only real experience with Highschool DxD was from the animated show, but he was pretty damn sure something like _this_ had ever showed up in it.

That meant that everything he was doing here was outside of canon, with threats and enemies completely untouched by the actual series. This was the equivalent to walking into a trap filled room with a blindfold on.

' _Then again,'_ he thought, taking barely a moment to disintegrate another charging Chimera, _'I'm not exactly helpless in this situation. I guess that's a plus in my favor.'_

Taking a deep breath to try and let that fact sink in, something to help him get a little more anchored, he moved further into the complex. The hallways were all metallic and wide all-around, giving him plenty of room to move. They were obviously made with larger creatures being moved around in mind.

As he went further in, the sheer quantity of creatures seemed to drop. Were they running out, or was there simply something else going on?

Unfortunately, he was in for a rather rude interruption during that line of thought. A sudden clanging sound from further in quickly shocked him out of his thoughts, leaving him alert.

Then it was followed by a scream that sounded _very_ familiar.

' _Oh, crap. PLEASE tell me she isn't fighting the one we're supposed to find!'_

Rushing after the sound as quickly as his feet could carry him, Vashyr prepared himself for a fight. He wasn't sure what the hell Karasuba had gotten into, but a scream like that could only mean she was excited, and excited meant _difficult_ , which meant she could be in trouble.

After a quick rush through the hallways, he found Karasuba and discovered exactly what she'd gotten herself into.

The creature she was fighting, looking vaguely like a heavily Draconic Chimera, was certainly an imposing sight. Tall, heavily built, and covered in scales that even Karasuba seemed to have trouble with cutting. Every move seemed to throw around several hundred pounds of pure muscle, crashing into the walls with enough force to drastically dent it and create at _least_ another full foot of space. A single hit like that and Karasuba would definitely be in trouble.

Fortunately, for all its strength and durability, it was still very limited by its current location. The hallway was far too small to grant it ease of movement, every motion was visibly awkward and compact due to the stifling surroundings.

That said, Karasuba wasn't exactly having the easiest time either. She was fast enough to dodge around the attacks, but there was so little room that she couldn't dodge by too much of a margin unless she retreated backward, which meant she would need to completely sacrifice any chance at an offensive to keep herself safe. Not a favorable situation at all. Not to mention the fact that her sword couldn't seem to cut through the scales very easily, only causing shallow rents in them.

In summation, the fight seemed to be the classic example of unable to hit vs. unable to hurt. Unless something happened to swing the scales then this could go on for a while.

oOoOoOoOo Karasuba Asama oOoOoOoOo

' _Now THIS is fun!'_

The pumping blood in her veins, the shock of her arms as her sword clanged against the scales, the air whistling past her as she narrowly dodged every strike from the creature before her. The sheer _rush_ that flowed through her whenever she got into a fight, a _real_ fight where her life was well and truly on the line.

And on the line her life definitely was. Her speed might allow her to dodge the blows, but this thing was _fast_ for its size. Fast even in spite of the hallway limiting its mobility, and powerful enough that she honestly thought her sword would've broken from that first block she used it for. And in cramped places like this her own speed could only save her life by _centimeters_ with every attack it sent her way.

Another blow came out, a strike with claws extended to take off her head. She dodged down, the claws barely missing the top of her head. _'An opening!'_

She pivoted slightly and cut out with her sword, aiming for the underside of the arm that was only lightly covered.

She was rewarded for the effort with the sweet sensation of her sword slicing through flesh and the pained shrieking sound the Chimera let out as it retracted its arm. Its reaction seemed a little slow, as if the pain had been more of a shock than anything serious. Had it never been hurt before?

Putting her speed to use again, Karasuba darted in close to the creature before quickly moving back as it tried to strike at her again with its injured arm, the attack coming out slightly slower than before. Maybe she could use that?

Then the opposite arm came out with a vicious sweep, much faster than the last with enough speed that she barely dodged and carrying enough force that it _crumpled_ the wall outward like the reverse of what would happen to a crushed tin can, creating a dent that was several feet deep.

Anyone else likely would've gotten scared at that, probably even turned tail and ran off. But Karasuba? It just gave her an idea.

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur

Seeing the most recent attack of the Chimera, Vashyr wondered again if he should get involved in the fight.

For all that Karasuba was holding her own, she certainly wasn't winning. The creature was only really hurt by that one attack she managed to get on the interior of its arm, and it learned from the mistake to make sure it wouldn't happen again. It was keeping its attacks more compact now, the openings to the vulnerable areas of its arms were becoming smaller, and that made it all the harder for Karasuba to injure it again.

' _It would take only one lance, ONE!'_ That's really all that it would take, he knew better than anyone how powerful his lances were, and there were few things that could rival the sheer piercing power or a condensed lightning bolt. But in cramped quarters like this there was too great of a chance of hitting Karasuba along with it. And calling out to her for a withdrawal to give him shooting room could very well prove to be a _fatal_ distraction.

Watching with bated breath, Vashyr waited in silence as the fight continued, neither side giving a quarter.

Then, ever so slowly and slightly, Karasuba moved back from the Chimera. The monster seemed to see it as a chance, because it moved forward immediately when she was on her back foot, swinging out an attack. But Karasuba was ready, rebounding and dashing forward and to the Chimera's right side.

The monstrous arm impacted against the wall, caving it in with a heavy sound. But something was missing, something crucial.

There was no sound of smacking flesh or breaking bone.

The Chimera seemed a little confused by that as well, if the look on its face was any indication. Then its expression changed into a rictus of pain and it screamed out in agony, dropping onto its knees as blood pooled on the ground from its legs.

It crouched over, Karasuba behind it with a bloody sword and an insane smile. She didn't give it any respite, jumping onto the Chimeras back and digging her sword into the spot between its arm and upper body, cutting her sword cleanly through the exposed skin and the muscle beneath.

The monster was beside itself, screaming in agony and wracked with pain so badly that it couldn't bring itself to mount a defense, leaving it open for he to do the same with its other arm. Then, with both means of attack out of commission, she jumped down to its front and sheathed her sword into its skull right through the eye socket.

The blade seemed to also reach into the throat, because the scream immediately died even as the Chimera still lived, the pupil of the other eye dilating and shaking in terror and pain before the life slowly left it.

With the bloody work done, Karasuba pulled her sword back out, briefly slashing it through the air to get rid of the stains before re-sheathing it.

Then, in what seemed like a bizarre display of almost childish politeness, she stood up straight and gave it a traditional Japanese bow as she said "Thank you for the fight."

Taking note of the odd mannerism. He slowly stepped forward, careful to make his steps heavy enough for her to hear them and stopped _just_ far enough away that he wasn't within sword distance.

….What? She was probably just coming off a battle high and would attack something because of the leftover adrenaline, don't judge!

"How exactly did you do that?" He asked, looking her over for any injuries.

She turned around to give him a smile that could _almost_ be considered an innocent kind of happy and pointed to the wall beside her, particularly the massive dent. "That thing made a huge opening for me barely a minute ago, so I just lured it forward a bit and used it to go around and take it from behind."

' _That was it?'_ Looking at the spot she gestured to he noticed that there _was_ a rather significant dent in the wall. Easily big enough for her to fit into it, even with the Chimera standing beside it. Speaking of which….

"Where did that thing come from, anyway?"

She pointed back to an opening in the wall, an entrance of some kind. "Wouldn't have even noticed it was there if the damned thing hadn't started slamming against it. Guess it smelled the blood and got excited."

He looked at the doorway with some trepidation. He shouldn't be worrying about this, they were here for a specific objective, to find the girl and get out, that's it. But…..but he just couldn't shake the nagging notion in the back of his mind that there was something _dangerous_ going on here, something he _needed_ to look into.

Particularly because everything that had happened so far was leagues out of canon. What he'd encountered here was such a complete unknown that his own knowledge of the series essentially would amount to nothing. That was dangerous, which meant he had to know what the hell he was getting into.

And considering just the strength of that irregular Chimera, he was willing to bet that this was more dangerous than even the regular unknown variable.

Sighing, he walked to the opening in the wall and entered the room.

' _A lab. Of course, why should it be anything else?'_

Giving the room a quick once-over, he noticed quite a few panels built into what looked like terminals. Controls? Maybe monitoring equipment?

He didn't miss the gigantic vat further in the corner, the glass broken and strewed outside it and the floor covered in some liquid that seemed to have been from inside the apparatus itself. Guess he found where the Chimera had gotten out from.

Seeing the several ripped up corpses that had been tossed around, it also looked like the thing hadn't been alone when it woke up. Poor people apparently couldn't get out before it escaped the tank and killed them.

Then again, involvement in whatever was going on here meant they probably had this coming anyway. Seriously, a scientist working in a place filled to the brim with freak of nature Chimera's, isolated from the rest of the world because they knew they'd get in trouble for playing God? Yeah, chances were these guys definitely had it coming.

Stepping further in, he looked around for an undamaged terminal, or at least one that was intact enough to work at all. That monster had torn this place up pretty bad when he broke out and started the massacre.

Fortunately he found one. Over in another corner, largely away from the carnage and only lightly tinted with some blood. Approaching it to see the interface, he looked for any kind of switches that could turn it on so he could find out what was really going on here.

….Unfortunately, it was at that moment that he realized something that was rather painfully obvious in hindsight.

"What the hell, is this thing out of Star Wars? I don't even recognize most of the damn buttons!"

Turns out that experience with internet surfing and computer games _didn't_ equate to mastery of computers and operating systems in general, especially one this advanced.

oOoOoOoOo Karasuba Asama oOoOoOoOo

Watching the outburst with a wry smile, Karasuba couldn't help but find it ironic. Coming into this room to try and find some answers only to find that he had no idea how to use the damn computers.

Seeing him look closely at the terminal, her ears still caught something. A light rustling from behind her and to the side.

She turned about with her newfound speed and brought her sword to bear, holding it in a guard stance to ward off anything that came her way. But rather than some kind of sneak attack it was…..

A scientist. Barely clinging to life and dragging himself along the floor to the doorway, his coat covered in blood and opened in several areas with deep gashes.

' _How the hell is he still alive?'_

She heard Vashyr say "Karasuba?" behind her, probably curious what had caused her sudden movement. Looks like he'll need to work on his awareness a bit, if that sound was from an ambusher and she wasn't here then he'd probably be dead.

"Just a survivor," she said, turning back to him and dismissing the man crawling away. "Nobody important."

He smiled at her. "I beg to differ," he said, walking past her to the man trying to escape. Not exactly hard, he obviously wasn't going anywhere.

He reached the man and roughly picked him up, getting a brief groan of pain out of him. "I'd like to make you a deal."

The scientist blinked at him, eyes still slightly unfocused from the pain. "A deal?"

Vashyr nodded. "I'm going to heal you, and in return you'll activate that terminal for me. You'll also open all the files so I can sift through it to find whatever I want. Deal?"

The bleeding scientist almost answered immediately, but something stopped him. His eyes darted around the room as if looking for something to help him escape, something to distract them.

' _He's nervous,'_ she thought. _'That means there's something he REALY doesn't want us to find out.'_

Judging from the narrowing of his eyes, Vashyr noticed it too. "Answer me in the next five seconds or you'll die anyway."

The man's eyes immediately widened after that, then widened even further when Vashyr actually started counting. "O-okay okay, I'll do it!"

As soon as he got his answer, Vashyr hoisted the man up a little higher and held out a glowing hand. Slowly, the light encompassed the man's body, healing his wounds as it spread throughout. In barely a minute, all of the previous injures were gone. "Done."

Task finished, he lowered the scientist back to his feet with nary a word before roughly pulling him along to the terminal, the poor man seeming to stumble on his own feet slightly at the rough treatment. After the quick game of follow-the-leader, Vashyr pushed him towards the terminal. "Activate it. And of you do anything to block something off or erase any information, you'll die here."

Karasuba honestly thought for a moment that the guy was gonna faint from terror, his skin had certainly gone pale enough to give the impression, but he got to the task regardless and, rather reluctantly, started working on the terminal. Vashyr kept a close eye on him the whole time, making sure he didn't try anything.

After a minute full of the sound of tapping keys and some chiming from the machine itself, everything seemed to be in order and the researcher stepped back from it with a deep breath. "Okay, it's all done," he stated nervously, backing away steadily but with a barely hidden urgency. "Now, if you don't mind I think I'll be-"

"Oh, but I _do_ mind," Vashyr interrupted. "Karasuba, block the doorway."

She had already dashed over before he'd even finished talking, if only to see a bit more panic on the face of the cornered man.

"What!?" he yelped out, panicking. "But-but you said that-"

"I said I'd _heal_ you, I don't remember saying I'd let you go. And depending on what I find in _here_ ," he tapped the monitor slightly with his finger," I _might_ let you go alive."

The man whimpered at that, clearly worried as Vashyr started reading.

Honestly, Karasuba wasn't entirely concerned. She came here to fight and kill monsters and that's all she gave a damn about. So what if these guys were breeding them by the thousands, that just meant more cannon fodder.

Actually, maybe she should ask if there were more of those big Dragon Chimera's like the one she'd fought barely five minutes ago. Those things were _fun_! A few more and she'd be satisfied for maybe a-

"Human resources?" Vashyr muttered, tone low and dangerous. "Is that what you call all the people who _died_ for you to make these things?"

….Wait, what?

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

The files in the database were, if nothing else, thorough. They went into great detail regarding the work that had been done and was in the process of _being_ done here in this facility. The processes the test subjects went through, cataloguing the results and grouping them together to find patterns, finding points of commonality to discern potentially favorable outcomes. It was quite impressive from a scientific standpoint.

It was also rather _horrific_ just how much it seemed to distance itself from what it was actually doing.

"Deaths are failed projects, people are listed as resources, don't bother with names at all and just give them numbers. What the hell kind of bullshit are you doing this fo-"

He didn't have time to finish before he heard the sound of a quickly unsheathed blade and the resulting gargle of a throat filled with its own blood.

He turned around and saw the man lying dead on the ground, face down in a growing puddle of blood from a gash in his throat.

He didn't even need to see the blood on Karasuba's sword to now she was responsible, she was literally the _only_ other person in the room, and the thought of her killing someone wasn't exactly hard to conceptualize.

But the look on her face was definitely not what he'd expect from her.

Gone was the strangely dissonant smirk and lazy expression I her eyes, gone was her relaxed posture and any semblance of apparent calm. Her eyes were cold and hard, face set in a vicious glower as she glared down in seething contempt at the dead man before her.

" _Trash_ ," she said lowly, the words dripping venom as she seemed to spit them out. With a quick swish of her sword to get the blood off, she sheathed it with a quick and tense motion that betrayed how tightly wound she suddenly was.

After a moment of visibly calming herself down, she seemed to regain some of her former calm. Certainly not entirely, if her lack of a previous smile was any indication.

She seemed to finally notice his staring, turning to him with an eyebrow raised in question. "What?"

"It just seems…..a little odd seeing you react like that."

That definitely wasn't the best response, Karasuba's face changing into a combined expression of annoyance and a hint of disgust. "Why, because I like killing things?"

She looked back down at the now dead scientist, even more disgust creeping onto her face. She moved to speak, her mouth opening but the words failed to come out, leaving her standing still and silent. She tried to say something again, only for the same result to occur.

Eventually, she just gave up trying to find the words to explain. "Forget it," she intoned. "It's a long story and there's no damn point right now. Let's just get this done with."

Her piece said, Karasuba walked over to a corner of the room without a word and leaned against hi, the matter done with.

Vashyr had to admit that he was rather surprised at her behavior. Karasuba, at least her canon version in Sekirei, had never shown a side like this. She was just a homicidal maniac who wanted to watch the world burn, that's all there generally was to her, so seeing a side like this was….unexpected.

Certainly not unwelcome, but it was definitely different from what he'd predicted the moment he saw her profile.

Shaking his head slightly to get rid of the distracting thoughts, he got back to the terminal. There was still more for him to learn that could be the difference between life and death, whether now or further down the line.

He counted his blessings that the now dead man hadn't done anything to make this thing harder to use, meaning he could go over the files without much difficulty. Though the information itself was certainly far from pleasant.

Even disregarding the sheer volume of experimentation and the people involved, the apparent goals were deeply worrying.

' _Great, so now we have someone trying to make a clone of Ddraig. Why not? Everything else is already getting screwed up.'_

When it came to levels of power in DxD, Ddraig was definitely a heavy hitter. He only remembered a few characters or entities that were decidedly more powerful than him, generally because there were so few at all, and that made the thought of a clone of him all the more worrying.

Fortunately the files showed that the process wasn't anywhere _near_ perfect yet. Their clearest and most recent success hadn't gained his ability to Boost, hadn't even inherited a thousandth of his actual level of power. There were even some notes that implied it could take more than a century of live combat and conditioning before it could reach that level of power.

Thank God for small miracles, because if there was even a ghost of a chance of running into Ddraig 2.0 then he'd probably just run out of here as fast as he possibly could.

There were also a couple other files of note, but none of them were connected with major experiments in the facility they were currently raiding, so he only gave them some brief moments of attention. The only one that stood out was something called…..

"Project: Argent," he muttered. Why did _that_ send a slight chill down his spine? It didn't match up with any terms he knew from the series itself. Food for thought.

Either way, they were almost done here. Just a moment to get a map up and….got it!

"Alright," he rose from the terminal and headed to the entrance, rout now set. "Let's finish this."

He heard Karasuba push herself off the wall and follow behind him, muttering "About damn time".

oOoOoOoOo Grigorio Iscamenty oOoOoOoOo

The chamber was abuzz with activity. Scientists running to and fro, materials being transported, personnel being called for attendance. All being organized for transportation to another facility through the teleportation array, a pair of massive pillars of quartz inscribed with intricate Rune overlays.

Part of him couldn't help but be a little disgruntled at the sudden move, but little could be done about it now. It was either get out of here or die, and he _refused_ to let all these years of research vanish simply due to some prideful attempt at a last stand. Horribly wasteful.

' _Just a little longer and everything will be ready to move. Now all we're missing is-'_

An alarm suddenly sounded within the room, indicating an incoming hostile.

He couldn't hold back a smile. "Bring out the Vector Suppressors and position them around the edges of the room. Spread them out."

oOoOoOoOo Lucy oOoOoOoOo

Lucy smiled as her vectors reached out to the door, the final obstruction that barred her way to vengeance at last.

At least three feet thick, the metal reinforced and alloyed for maximum strength, all to keep out intruders for just a little bit longer to buy time and escape. Against most it would've been almost overkill, something insurmountable.

Against her vectors, it may as well have been made of tinfoil.

Hardened steel crumpled, hard metal torn apart and shredded by an invisible force. With a horrible cacophony of the shrieking sounds of bent and ripped steel, the door was reduced to naught but particularly valuable scrap metal.

And just like that, the way was opened.

Her smile stretched further across her face, almost splitting it in half horizontally, a mad glint in her eyes as she staled forward like a predator out for blood.

"Activate the Suppressors and block the entrance!"

She barely had a moment to process what she'd just heard before her mind became a haze of burning pain, her thoughts filled by a static and white noise that almost left her curled up on the floor and almost screaming as she suffered the worst migraine she'd ever felt in her life.

Perhaps worst of all was the effect she could feel it having on her vectors, her only means of attack and defense, forcing them to fade away as she seemed to lose the mental ability to summon and control them. She tried summoning them back, beginning to feel them form and take shape only to stop as she was struck by an even worse migraine, their would-be forms immediately dispersing.

She tried again, then again, and _again_ , but the result was always the same. Every time she tried to summon them up the headache got worse and they lost their form, her head almost feeling like it was splitting open from the migraine even as she felt her body begin to break down from the continued attempts. And for the first time, she felt helpless and vulnerable again.

She didn't even notice she was crying until she felt a tear slide down her cheek.

"Did you really think I'd spend all that time developing you and observing your abilities without devising countermeasures?"

She forced herself to look up at those words, glaring _death_ at the one who spoke. At the man responsible for _all_ of this. Grigorio Iscamenty!

The smile on his face infuriated her.

"Oh, don't be like that! You should be proud that I considered you enough of a threat to devise such a thing." His hand rose up, fingers cupping his chin as his expression changed from smug to thoughtful. "Although, I must admit, I never expected you to develop your abilities this quickly. Perhaps this requires a more…. _in-depth_ analysis."

The fingers left his chin, snapping in command. "Restrain her and bring her with us! We might get some useful data after all."

She stopped glaring once the words left his mouth, her expression morphing to desperation and terror. "No!" she screamed, struggling and failing to get to her feet and escape. She had collapsed back to her knees two times before three men had reached her, holding her down as she screamed and struggled while they forced a straitjacket onto her.

"Oh, don't be such a whiner," Grigorio complained. "Just a few pokes and prods and everything will be done. It's not like you'll liv much longer anyway, so just-"

"Bishop Grigorio, we have two more intruders incoming."

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

As he ran down the halls, the walls coated with blood and floor littered with the shredded remains of Chimera's, Vashyr couldn't help but wonder how the hell things had taken a turn like this at all.

Waking up in the body of a Devil from a fucking _anime_ had been a massive shock on its own, he was surprised he hadn't collapsed in panic when it started, but at least he knew the basic structure of events that was to come.

Then he found out it was around four years before can actually occurred, meaning he was in territory practically unknown beyond a few cursory events.

And here he was, so far outside of anything known to canon that he was effectively blind to everything that was happening around him and whatever it was leading to. Part of him just wanted to ditch everything that was happening here and get the hell out before things got any crazier.

But he knew that wasn't an option. He'd been sent here on an assignment by Sirzechs Lucifer, THE Lucifer of the Underworld, and turning around and abandoning that task would be akin to shooting himself in the foot with an assault rifle!

Not to mention what was apparently happening here. It might not be canon, but it was something that could become a very real problem if left unaddressed. He had no idea how it couldn't have shown up in the original series, but right now it looked like he would need to interfere to _keep_ it that way and prevent a very dangerous future problem from rearing its ugly head.

Then he saw it up ahead, a massive opening surrounded by twisted and broken metal. The entrance to the deepest and final section of this damned maze of mad science and chrome, the place here this whole nightmare could be put to an end and he could personally put this detour and its implications permanently behind him.

In retrospect, running straight in without knowing what could happen may have actually been the _worst_ approach he could've done.

Because the second he and Karasuba crossed the threshold he could _feel_ something wrong in the air, something heavy and oppressive with a sensation similar to….to… _'Walter's wires!'_

Then a second door sealed shut behind them and left them with no means of escape, and Karasuba collapsed on the ground with a pained gasp. The sword slipped from her hand as she fall and seemed to curl in on herself, twitching occasionally in obvious discomfort.

' _What the hell!?'_

Yeah, that really wasn't good. Anything that could disable Karasuba that easily wasn't something he wanted to deal with, so he was about to start throwing around lightning bolts to melt apart whatever in the room was responsible.

But when he reached within to feel the power, he found he somehow couldn't even _touch_ it. Something was blocking him!

He looked around to find the source, noticing that he and Karasuba were both definitely surrounded on all sides, though they fortunately seemed to be more of the same researchers he'd found dead in that room some distance back. But there were still some oddities that drew his attention.

First was an array of strange devices placed along the railing above. They looked like tri-pods several feet high with long vertically placed cylinders held by the legs, glowing brightly. It was very subtle, but he was sure he could feel _something_ emanating from them, like a thrumming in the very back of his own mind. Could those be what was blocking his powers and forcing Karasuba to the ground?

No, not them. The contraptions were odd but they _weren't_ the source of the power that was shutting him down.

Fortunately he didn't need to ponder for long, because another pulse hit him and he felt that same sensation as when he stormed into the room. _'The ceiling!'_

He looked, seeing what looked like a…high-tech and glowing _chandelier_? Was it supposed to look like that in general, or was it just particular to _this_ model in particular?

"Surprised?"

He turned to the voice, caught off guard enough that the shock was still evident on his face.

The man who spoke was visibly old, maybe 60 to 70 in age, hair completely whitened from the years he'd seen.

Despite that, he seemed to stand with a strength and vigor that would be easier found in some less than half that age, his cold eyes unflinching as he stared down upon him from a railing held above the ground.

"It's a little security measure I devised against Devil attackers," he said, a cruel grin forming on his face. "I won't set your head spinning with the details, but it produces a potent Holy Aura that dispels Devil Magic and paralyzes them by interfering with its flow in their body and its connection to their soul."

His grin slowly disappeared, replaced by an expression of thought. "Although…it's rather strange that you haven't collapsed like you companion," he gestured to Karasuba behind him. "Oh well, it blocks your Magic and that's good enough for now. I suppose later we could strap your corpse to a table and-"

The old man was interrupted by the sounds of a struggle, both their attentions turning to the noise.

' _It's her.'_

Lucy, the pink haired girl he'd come looking for, restrained by several figures and being bound up in a straitjacket.

She definitely wasn't making it easy for them, struggling like a wild animal and fueled by adrenaline, taking all the strength the men had just to hold her.

Then one of their heads seemed to shatter _inwards_ like some reverse of breaking an egg and she screamed in agony, seeming to bleed from her eyes. _'Did she just do what I think she did?'_

"Keep those Vector Suppressors activated at all times!" the old man commanded. "Full power! We can't let her have use of her vectors again!"

More jammers of some kind? They had something like that for her too? Though perhaps it shouldn't be _too_ surprising they would have something like that, they'd definitely need it to keep her in check. And it looked like she was connected to this place somehow, so they'd obviously know her abilities.

But how…no, he didn't have time to think about that. He had his _own_ problems to get out of right now and he couldn't afford a distraction. But the more he looked at his situation the more he realized the only way out was to fight. And considering his Devil powers had been sealed, and his skill in Sage Arts was definitely _not_ powerful enough to win this on their own, the odds weren't at all likely.

' _Damnit.'_

oOoOoOoOo Lucy oOoOoOoOo

' _DAMNIT!'_

She was _so_ close! The fucking bastard who ruined her was literally in the same room, but she was weak, bound up, and _couldn't do anything_ _ **!**_

Attempting yet another minor struggle in her straitjacket, she barely managed to even twitch her arms before she was stopped by a cuff to the head from one of the bastards holding her. Gritting her teeth and hissing, she tried yet again to summon up a vector to rip them both apart, only to feel it fall apart as her focus was broken by seething pain that shaped in her mind. Those _fucking_ Suppressors.

Was this how it ended? Helpless and unable to escape? Captured and about to be sentenced to the same Hell all over again?

….No. NO! She fucking refused to go back to that, even if she had to bring this whole damned mountain down on top of her own head, _she'd see that bastard die!_ But how?

Struggling against the pain in her head and her own swimming vision, Lucy opened her eyes to survey her surroundings.

It wasn't easy to make out everything clearly, it was all so blurry from her migraine that it took a moment to really come into focus.

Her attention as first drawn to those damned things keeping her from ripping everyone apart, those Vector Suppressors. She tried destroying them a few times, but she could barely even form the beginnings of a single vector before she lost it as her head felt like it was going to split open, and it got worse as she tried to push her vector closer to destroy it.

Her attention moved away from it, turning to the other people around her in the large room before landing on someone she didn't recognize. Two such people, in fact.

The first looked like she wouldn't be able to do much, some silver haired lady curled up on the ground with a sword beside her.

The second though, a young man with brown hair, was still standing. He might be able to fight, but she could tell there was _something_ holding him back. A tension in him, something keeping him rooted in place. What was wrong? Couldn't he do anything?

"Are you done?"

Her head swiveled to the side as she heard that voice, one both familiar and so utterly _hated_. One that had haunted her in the moments of blissful unconsciousness she'd had.

And there he was, leaning forward into a railing on the same level as her, looking at her with an expression of high and mighty annoyance. "Your struggling isn't at all appreciated or productive, so just be quiet during transit."

She almost lost it right there, nearly forming another vector to rip him apart before remembering what happened the last several times. Shaking in frustration, she halted its manifestation with a growl.

His smile almost made her try again. "Very good." Then he turned his attention back to the two people below, the guy in particular. "Now, if you don't mind, I think we'll just get this done so my people and I can get back on to our work." Grigorio smiled down on him, condescending and smugness rolling off of him. "Not that you could do anything about it anyway."

The guy below grimaced slightly at that, something about Grigorio's words really hitting a nerve.

But then he did something that seemed a little odd to her, out of place, however small it seemed.

He looked directly up for a moment, the grimace on his face growing even more severe from what he saw. And so her own eyes were drawn upwards to the ceiling. More specifically, the device hanging down from it.

She had never seen anything quite matching it before, but it still showed some telltale signs of Grigorio's design preferences. Sharp angles along the edges, the chassis shining perfectly like chrome, the symmetrical glowing lines across it that showed the flow of power making it work.

She didn't need to be a genius to put two and two together here, _that_ thing was keeping the guy below from fighting.

That meant she had her opening.

" _HEY!"_

Everything froze in the room at her shout, that one word coming out at the top of her lungs and with enough volume that the mooks directly around her probably had their ears ringing about now. All eyes were on her, and whatever Grigorio was about to order had been interrupted, even the bastard himself turning his attention to her.

But what mattered was that she got the attention of the person below. "You," she gestured to him as she said the word. "You want him dead too, right? To get out of here?"

To his credit he didn't take long to answer. Barely even a second of hesitation and his features had already gained a serious look, nodding at her. "Yeah."

She smiled again, gesturing to the device above them. "Then if I destroy that thing above you, you'll kill him for me?"

He didn't even hesitate. "Yes."

And with a new smile on her face, baring teeth and a killing instinct, she formed a vector. Not just one of those little tendrils from before, but the biggest and strongest she possibly could.

The pain in her head was almost immediate, so intense and raw that she could practically feel the sensation of her head splitting in half. It would be even worse if she was aiming for one of those Vector Suppressors, like a wire with live current getting patched right into her brain.

But that's not what she was aiming for this time.

"NO!" Well, Grigorio seemed to finally catch on. "STOP HER! STOP HER NOW!"

But it was too late. Will all the willpower she could muster, all of the pain and spite, with all of her whole _life_ behind it, she threw her vector right at the machine hanging from the ceiling.

She barely registered the sound of ripping steel before she blacked out, and then she knew no more.

That was the moment when Lucy's life was all but snuffed out.

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

' _And we're back in business!'_

With that damn thing down he could feel his power flowing again, pulsing through his body with an odd combination of static, wind, and a cool chill.

He wasted no time in making the first move, summoning up a number of lances, all of them small enough that he wouldn't need to worry about caving this place in. He fired them into the railings around him to kill the surrounding enemies, more than a dozen of them dying from that one volley.

Most of them died before they could even scream, vaporized by the condensed plasma that made the lances up at all. Others weren't so lucky, getting close enough that the heat partially melted their skin and flesh, their clothes being set instantly aflame from the convection. Those unfortunate fools died screaming from the pain.

Turning around to give Karasuba a quick check and see if she was okay, he was relieved to see she was already getting back on her feet. She wasn't exactly steady, but at least she was getting up and had her sword in hand.

She groaned. "God-OW!" she flinched, feeling the unfortunate consequences of using the G-word in spite of being a Devil. "Ugh, I feel like I have a hangover."

"Complain later," he said, getting ready to leap up to the railings above. "Kill now."

He jumped, landing on the railing where Lucy had collapsed. Killing Grigorio was an objective, but _she_ was still the priority at the moment.

Summoning up another lance in his hand, he easily dispatched the men near her on his way over. They went down quickly, no resistance against the sheer heat of his weapon, merely the sizzling of flesh and the stench of burnt meat, the occasional scream of pain when the wound wasn't instantly lethal.

Unfortunately, by the time he got close to observe her, he knew he'd arrived too late. He didn't even need to check her pulse to know it.

Lucy was dead. The strain of her last act simply too much for her body to support. He could feel the last remains of the one tiny flicker of her life from after it faded away.

Strange. He'd thought he would've had a stronger reaction as he stood there over her lifeless body, but…there wasn't really anything. Maybe some mild disappointment, but that was all.

…Then again, he had a rather large supply of Evil Pieces anyway. He could easily bring her back.

He might've spent a moment pondering over the hypocrisy of that, considering he gave Akame a choice, _two_ choices even, both before and after. But that was a thought for later.

Right now, he had someone to kill.

Turning from her body, he turned his attention towards the man behind everything in this little _tangent_ from canon. He had already started moving, heading towards some circle drawn into the ground some distance back from his previous position, a large glass tank being brought alongside him. Vashyr didn't recognize what the circle was, but he wasn't about to let the bastard use it.

Rushing forward with lance ready, he got prepared to spear him down.

Only to stop in his tracks as he ran into some kind of barrier, his reserves of Devilish power being suppressed again. "Oh, what the hell!"

Seriously, was the bastard _really_ going to get away now? After all this? With a string of enraged curses flying from his mouth, he just started punching the damn thing. At this point it barely even registered to him that it might not work, he just wanted to fucking _hit_ something!

That seemed to get the old man's attention, because he turned to him with a seething glare of loathing and contempt at his attempt at physical battery. "What? This circle is the primary means of evacuation, did you _honestly_ think I'd leave it without wards or defenses for your kind?" He turned away with a scoff, continuing his stride.

Vashyr barely heard him as he kept punching the barrier, intent on _somehow_ finding a way through. He was _not_ about to let this bastard get away, not after coming this far, NO WAY!

But with every strike he could hear his power waning, seemingly drained away by the barrier. His lances had proven useless when it winked out on contact with the damn thing, and his physical attacks were faring little better.

Panting slightly from the exertion, he pulled back. This was obviously getting him nowhere, not the direct approach. He needed to try this differently, approach it from a different angle. But how?

oOoOoOoOo Grigorio Iscamenty oOoOoOoOo

' _Damn it. DAMN IT!'_

How the hell could things have gone this bad? How could this have gone from any other day of research and development into Hell in a handbasket in less than three hours, and with a whole research facility needing to be liquidated? So much data compromised, so many resources lost, including a _very_ prominent test subject and source of data!

And it was all because _one_ random Devil showed up and decided to start blowing everything away for some little reason that Grigorio honestly couldn't give a damn about. Even if he knew what it was.

' _Murphy, you son of a BITCH!'_

With a forced effort to calm himself back down, he tried to put at least the few positives into perspective. Such as how the damn interloper would be dying soon as this whole facility was liquidated. The power reactor would reach critical soon and the whole facility would be destroyed.

Oh, and he'd still managed to retain the most important test subject; Project Crimson. It wasn't perfected, not by a long shot, but it was still a big step in the right direction.

Yes, this could still be salvaged. It was a loss, but not an insurmountable one. He could still bounce back, he could….what the….?

He looked up as some part of the ceiling above started creaking, slowly being pushed down by something from above. But the facility shouldn't be damaged enough for the internal structure to start collapsing yet, so what-

His thought was interrupted as the section of metal tore away to reveal what looked to be, of all things, a gigantic _root_! Then it was followed by others as they all started to expand the opening and come down thrashing. Ducking as he ran for the circle, he just narrowly managed to escape getting his head knocked off.

' _How the Hell did THAT happen!?'_

Stumbling through the roots swinging through the air, he saw an assistant get hit by one of them. Saw him get struck so hard that he flew through the air with a sickening crack before hitting the nearby wall with a dull thud, then fall to the ground motionless besides some errant twitches.

He didn't bother giving him a second glance.

But that momentary look still gave him a glimpse behind, and then he knew how this had happened.

It was that damn Devil on the other side, covered by a faint green outline as he seemed to stand in some meditation. And if that wasn't damning enough, a large number of those massive roots were converging on the barrier he'd been so pointlessly throwing himself against. Worse yet they seemed to be having something of an effect, the one measure of protection slowly fading as the roots continued pushing with enough force to split boulders. But how…

' _Sage Arts!? Are you kidding me!?'_

Finally, after a timespan of barely ten seconds that somehow felt like it took ten _years_ off of his lifespan, Grigorio reached the circle. Touching the array below, he channeled power into it to start the teleportation. "Teleport; Kerberos Facility."

The circle reacted, energy flowing through it and beginning to isolate the space and occupants within as the teleportation began. They were going to make it!

' _I've won!'_

And then, as if fate itself had decided to take him low by an act of spite, one of the many thrashing roots from above, one that had strayed away from the barrier, struck out fast as a whip, and hit the tank of _Project Crimson_ right out of the damn circle!

He didn't even have time to let out a scream of outrage before he and his few remaining followers were swallowed by the light of the circle, right as the ward finally failed.

oOoOoOoOo Vashyr Furtur oOoOoOoOo

"Oh, God, DAMMIT!"

"Hey!" Karasuba shouted, now on another railing herself as she cut down some more people. "How come _you_ get to say it?"

"Long and complicated story," he answered, rushing into the newly unlocked area. Carefully going around the roots, he reached the circle where that damn researcher and his fucking friends had vanished _right_ as he finally broke down that damned barrier.

He wouldn't say he'd really gotten far along with Kuroka's training, but she'd been sure to drill him hard with the basics and he'd dedicated just as much time to it as everything else. You'd be surprised how much you could do with a good knowledge of the basics and enough stubbornness.

He had no way of getting through the barrier with his usual approach, it was pretty much the same as that machine that left his powers locked away but focused into a physical force. Fortunately he had access to something besides the Magic granted to him as a Devil, otherwise there would've been no way to get through. All he'd really done was use Sage Arts to take control of a number of tree and plant roots from the earth above and had them rapidly grow downward until they'd reached him. They could naturally split some pretty strong materials given time, all he had to do was push a little.

The guy probably never expected for a Devil to bother to learn Sage Arts, though Vashyr was pretty sure he wouldn't be so lucky next time he met him. And if the feeling in his gut was any indication, he was _definitely_ gonna run into him again.

Turning away from the now inert Magic circle, his attention shifted to the strange tank that had been knocked aside when he'd been manipulating the roots. Odd that the old man had been so obsessed with bringing it with him, especially when the compound was under attack. It must've been important.

It looked like a mostly metallic tank with a glass front for viewing in, several smaller modules around the chassis apparently keeping it running and sustaining whatever was inside while in transit. There was also a number of tubes that seemed to constantly filter the fluid inside and kept the subject alive.

His eyes were drawn to the glass, peering to see the subject inside. It was….a young girl? Probably no older than ten or eleven, judging by her size, with long hair of a color he couldn't quite discern.

Then he saw a name plate on it and he immediately found out why it was so important. Because on the front and above the glass were the clear words **PROJECT: CRIMSON**.

He groaned, the dull sound of his palm slapping right into his own forehead. "Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me! THIS is supposed to be the big deal, _THIS_ is Ddraig 2.0? Some little girl?"

Honestly, this was starting to sound like something out of a fanfiction of some kind. The one where the writer decided EVERY important character somehow had to be female.

…..Okay, throwing that thought away now, don't even think about the implications. The last thing he needed was to start pondering over the possibility that he'd been dropped into a _fucking_ fanfiction. He didn't die to be _entertainment_ for people.

Fortunately, he didn't have much time to pursue that particular line of thought. The moment it materialized in his mind an alarm started going off, red lights flashing in warning.

" **Alert!"** blared an electronic voice, broadcasted through some kind of intercom. **"Reactor status is reaching critical! Immediate evacuation is recommended!"**

"What?" Karasuba shouted, running up to him with bloodied blade in hand. "How the hell did that happen? We haven't even run into anything like that on the way here."

Vashyr gritted his teeth. "It wasn't us. That bastard must've done something to make this happen before he left, we've gotta get out of here." He pointed to the still body of Lucy on the railing nearby. "Pick her up and take her with us."

Karasuba looked over her with a raised eyebrow. "She's _dead_ , why the hell bother?"

"No time to explain, just DO it!"

Karasuba almost looked like she was about to protest, but she shut her mouth at the last moment and shook her head in resignation and sheathed her sword, moving to carry her. "What, the boss man is scared of girls or something?"

"No," he said, turning to the tank. "There's just something heavier for me."

In a matter of moments they had both picked up their burdens and started running for dear life, trying to retrace the path they'd taken to arrive at the sight of their little showdown with an honest to God Mad Scientist and escape his soon to explode underground lab.

' _Why do I have a feeling this is gonna become the norm for me?'_

oOoOoOoOo 1 Minute Later oOoOoOoOo

Okay, news to him, but it turned out that trying to find your way out of a huge underground lab on your first excursion and retrace your steps to get out _wasn't_ actually very easy! Why the hell did they make it so easy in the movies, were they trying to give people the wrong fucking idea!?

And to make matters worse, the alarms were starting to get louder! He wasn't sure if that meant something, but if nonexistent luck so far was any indication, it probably meant nothing good.

" **CRITICAL! CRITICAL! CRITICAL! CRITICAL! CRITICAL! CRITICAL!"**

Oh, great, now _that_ was a thing!

"Screw it!" he shouted, shuffling the tank in his grasp so it was held by a single arm, his free hand crackling with lightning as he formed a lance. "I'm making us a new way out!"

Throwing his hand forward and letting the lance loose, this time he kept some more control over the Magic that gave it form and consistency. Rather than exploding on contact it kept in physical form, melting through the metal of the hall and then the earth and rock beyond that. The bits of rock made a few patches of magma, but that meant little when he summoned up some water to douse and solidify it.

After barely twenty seconds of forcing the lance forward, it finally broke free into the open air and natural light came pouring in.

"Why the hell didn't you do that before!?"

"Just move it!"

With a way out finally in front of them, they started sprinting just as the complex started to shake. They'd only cleared the improvised exit as they felt extreme heat starting to follow them on the way out, immediately succeeded by roaring flames coming out from the hole as the two of them conjured their wings and took off.

Looking below, Vashyr breathed a sigh of relief as he saw what they had narrowly escaped. The whole complex seemed be melting down, turned into something akin to a caldera of rapidly forming lava. Looks like the plans for destroying it hadn't involved blowing it up so much as literally liquidating it.

Then again, this was much easier to outrun. Or outfly, as it were.

"So," Karasuba muttered beside him, dead pinkette still held over her shoulder as she was floating in the air, staring down at the now molten facility. "Is this kinda thing gonna be common around you?"

He honestly gave the question some thought before he gave an answer. "I can't say for sure, but my gut is giving me a loud _yes_."

…..Dear _GOD_ , what the hell has his life turned into?

 **xXx**

WHOA! Long wait, huh? Well, I won't lie, it's not entirely due to circumstance. I've always had a bit of a procrastination problem and it tends to get me at the worst times. Though I can say my unfortunate habit isn't entirely responsible. I've gotten a job for one thing, a night shift one, so you can imagine how awkward that can make things when it comes to timing. My mom and I have also moved AGAIN, but this is pretty definitively gonna be the LAST time. Why? Because we are now the proud owners of our own house! YAY!

Once again, as much as you're probably tired of hearing it, I'm NOT gonna drop this, or ANY of my other fics. The waits may be long sometimes but you will ALWAYS count on me to keep these going unless I'm either crippled or dead.

Now, onto the chapter itself.

If you think the interaction between Vashyr and Grigorio could've gone a little narratively smoother, I really can't complain. I had some trouble writing that part, and it's because I've already got an idea of the kind of character I'm trying to portray Grigorio himself as. He's smart, competent, doesn't take chances, doesn't waste time gloating, and covers his bases. A SMART antagonist, essentially. Sounds easy, but then you get to writing them out and realize, "Wait a minute, how's the protagonist gonna survive a run in with someone like that?" I had to rewrite several parts of it to make sure it made sense and make sure nothing contradicted, so I'm sorry if some of it might seem a bit off.

As for the girl in the tank, Project: Crimson, don't worry about her being too powerful. She's not gonna be anywhere NEAR as powerful as the actual Ddraig for the duration of the fic, she doesn't even have his ability to Boost. The reason Grigorio considered her so vital is because she's the most RECENT successful step, and losing her means he'll essentially have to restart DECADES of work to repeat the process again just to get to the point where he made her. Don't get me wrong, she IS extremely strong, she's essentially a humanoid mini-Ddraig, but she's nowhere near as powerful as her progenitor.

Regarding Lucy's ability to use her Vector at ALL when near those Vector Suppressors, it doesn't so much completely erase her ability to make and use them so much as make it EXTREMELY difficult and physically harmful For comparison, has anyone seen A Certain Scientific Accelerator? Remember that episode where Mikoto and Kuroko were countered by that sound machine? They could still ACTIVATE their powers, but they became next to impossible to really use effectively, so it's kinda like that. The one that countered Devil powers was a straight up nullifier, and the reason Vashyr wasn't brought to the floor with migraines like Karasuba was….well, I think you can guess. It's not hard.

EDIT: The jammer that affected Vashyr and Karasuba DOES have a limit to how much power it can hold back, but neither was powerful enough. Only an Ultimate Class Devil or above would be more or less unaffected. As for why they aren't more widespread, Grigorio has been working on them for YEARS, and he's keeping them as a trump card, he doesn't want anyone knowing about them. Guess that's another reason he's gonna be pissed with Vashyr.

Also, to address some pints raised in reviews from the last chapter.

Lightning Armor: You're wrong. The Lightning Armor from Naruto does NOT provide physical protection at all, it just enhances speed and reflexes, it's on the damn Naruto wiki. If you want to point something out in reviews, please do your research first.

EDIT: Sorry, I was incorrect about this. It DOES boost defense in Naruto, it turns out I didn't read the full description. Either way, this version only affects speed and reflexes, NOT defense.

Vashyr's Identity: I thought I'd already explained this, but I guess I'll go through it a little more thoroughly this time. Rita had already figured out that something was going on with Vashyr, the behavior disparity between him and Vashyron was REALLY that big by that point. He had no real way to hide it from her and lying would've soured their relationship between them. Besides that, coming clean with her and being able to talk with her honestly meant he could also ask questions that he NEVER could've otherwise, it would've been too suspicious. Kuroka was much the same, she could tell from the start that there was something off with him due to her Sage Arts and she wasn't gonna let up until she found out what was going on and she was absolutely sure her sister was safe. Rita vouching for her also did a lot to help, if she hadn't then Vashyr would've been MUCH more reluctant to tell her. As for Walter, that was pretty much the same. Walter already KNEW there was something off with him because he was completely unaffected by Holy Aura's. Devils shouldn't be CAPABLE of that, so he'd obviously be suspicious of him and try to investigate on his own. Vashyr told him as much as he did for DAMAGE CONTROL. He told him bits and pieces to keep him from trying to look for the WHOLE THING. Same with Sirzechs, though with an added twist. Twist being: What would happen if you lied to the most powerful person in the Underworld, and he found out later? And don't think Sirzechs wouldn't be able to put the dots together over time, the dude is the Lucifer for a reason. And as a last nail in the argument: How many people has he told? Four. FOUR PEOPLE. That's less than the number of people who know BATMAN'S secret identity. And Vashyr NEVER told any of them that he was a Human before his change, and especially not that he was someone from a world where THEIR world is a damn Visual Novel and Anime.

Issei: I have to admit, I had some trouble coming up with a counter for this one. Saying that Issei actually HAS lost something for his power ups, and that he actually CAN be a pretty cool character? I put some responses down, but I honestly couldn't think of anything concrete until I really looked at the series. By then I started laughing, because I realized that the argument on this was even shallower than I thought. First off, WHAT consequences did Issei really suffer to get it? Some of his life span? The occasional transformation of his arm? Let's work on the first one. He's a Devil, and that already mean he's got a LONG lifespan, at least several thousand years, so unless activating that cheap Balance Breaker managed to shave off a MILLENIA of his lifespan, that argument holds no weight at all. And it holds NEGATIVE weight if his being the holder of Boosted Gear affects his physiology as much as is implied, because if Dragons are FUCKING AGELESS, in which case a cost of lifespan means LITERALLY nothing to him. As for his arm, take a look at what happens to calm it down. Akeno Himejima SUCKS HIS FINGER. If anything Issei ENJOYS that, he's getting fingerplay from the hottest girl in Kuoh Academy, so it's OBVIOUSLY not a downside. If Ishibumi put REAL consequences and costs to it, then it would be much better, but what pisses me off is that these attempts are SO half-assed that they aren't consequences at all. You wanna see consequences for immediate power ups? Go and look at what happens to Gon when he powers up to beat Pitou in Hunter x Hunter. The kid is left in a coma afterwards, and the process of bringing him back removes his powers entirely, with his own father saying he got off fucking easily. THAT'S consequence.

*SIGH* Well, I thing that covers it. I'm gonna be going for a chapter for A Scorpion's Successor next and then World of Remnant: Online. Bit of info, though, my imagination has been MURDERING me recently. I'm not sure if I'll be able to hold back the story ideas for much longer before something comes out, but I think I've got an idea.

You know that part at the end where I ask for you to look for typos or errors? Here's a bit of extra incentive. For every one you find, you get to pick one of two rewards. 1) You can ask ONE question per error found about any of my fics, and I will answer it. INCLUDING spoiler ones, under the assumption that you will keep it completely confidential. And yes, you can ask questions about the new fic ideas too. 2) You get to put down a vote, on a ratio of one error/typo found equaling one vote for which new fic you'd like me to work on. I'll put the details for some of them on my Profile on this site. I suggest you go over the reviews to make sure you find any such typos FIRST.

Anyway, review and have a nice day!


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